Destiny
by Ice7
Summary: **COMPLETE** What would happen if Sirius Black had a daughter that nobody knew exsisted and she could talk to the dead? Chaos, pranks, a prophecy, and a very freaked out Sirius...
1. The Light From the Dark

Summary: What would happen if Sirius Black had a daughter that nobody knew existed and she could talk to the dead? Chaos, pranks, a prophecy, and a very freaked out Sirius…  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing that JK Rowlings' owns. I own Destiny Black and Julia Snow and anything you don't recognize.  
  
Author Note: Please review! I would even appreciate constructive criticism, though nothing mean! This is the first story I've ever put on the Internet so if it's messes up, well I tried!  
  
"~~~"= Speech  
  
'~~~'= Thought  
  
Des is pronounced as Dez  
  
*~ Necromancy- Conjuration of the spirits of the dead ~*  
  
****Necromancy is the ability to see the dead, talk to the dead, and make the dead visible to the living. It is considered the darkest of dark arts.****  
  
  
  
Destiny  
  
PROLOGUE  
  
For many in the wizarding world, October 31, 1981 was a day for celebration. Celebrating Voldemorts' fall from power, the end of his reign of terror. Very few ever considered the lives that were destroyed when Lily and James Potter were murdered. The only name that was ever mentioned in contact with the Potters was Harry Potter.  
  
The Day that the Potters were murdered began the destruction for a little girl who was yet to even be born. A girl that, for the light side, could be the difference between victory and defeat. This is the story of Destiny Black.  
  
  
  
  
  
CHAPTER 1  
  
THE LIGHT FROM THE DARK  
  
  
  
CRASH!  
  
'Oh, please don't let it already be morning,' Destiny thought as she rolled over and shoved her face into her pillow.  
  
"Destiny! Get down here right now! You're in huge trouble missy!" Julia Snow screamed at her daughter.  
  
Groaning, Destiny rolled out of bed and trudged over to her dresser to grab a hair scrunchie. Looking in the mirror, Destiny groaned again. 'Geez, I look like road kill,' she thought. "No scratch that," Destiny muttered. "I look like road kill that someone ran over, backed up over, a dog pissed on, a lawnmower-"  
  
"You know, if you keep talking to yourself like that, people are going to start to wonder about you," a voice said in a laughing tone.  
  
"Oh, shut-up you," Destiny said moodily.  
  
"Hey, I'm just trying to help you out here. Besides you look great even if you refuse to admit it."  
  
And it was true. Even after sleeping, Destiny could still be considered beautiful. She had thick, curly black hair that went half way down her back. Large ice-blue eyes that, unless you knew her, were considered uncaring. She was petite at 5'1" and model thin.  
  
Of course, all Destiny could see, looking in the mirror, was a mess of tangled curls, eyes that everyone considered creepy, and a body that was to skinny and short to ever reach anything.  
  
"If you say so," Destiny said with a yawn.  
  
Turning to go downstairs, Destiny said hesitantly, "You will come and keep me company at school this year won't you? You know how much I hate having to switch schools every year. This time will be even worse too because it's a different country."  
  
"Of course I will," the voice said. "You're the only one who can see me. Besides, with you at Hogwarts, I'll be able to terrorize the teachers again!"  
  
Snorting with laughter, Destiny went downstairs. Jumping over a box that had yet to be unpacked, Destiny ran into the kitchen.  
  
"Morning Mom! Isn't it a gorgeous day! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the-"  
  
Destiny faltered seeing the look of furry on her mother's face.  
  
"What? What'd I do? I was asleep!"  
  
"I told you," Julia said quietly. "I told you to stop using those freak powers of yours! You're fifteen years old and you're been expelled from four schools! If you get expelled from Hogwarts then you won't be accepted to any more schools! You're lucky your name hasn't been plastered all over the news! If the papers got hold of the fact that you're a Necromancer, your life would be over! People would run away in fear of you! You know that people never accept someone who's different!"  
  
'Of course I know,' Destiny thought bitterly. Boy did she know. She had always been different. Most of the time, people said how they wished they were different than others. Destiny had learned, very young, that being different was horrible.  
  
From the time she had learned to talk, she had been seen talking to people who weren't there. Julia Snow had just assumed her daughter had an imaginary friend…  
  
  
  
*PAST*  
  
1985  
  
Julia Snow was twenty-five and already she was becoming bitter and slightly mean.  
  
'I have every right to be bitter!' Julia thought angrily. 'My Fiancé caused my two best friends to be murdered and left me pregnant with his kid! He should have been here to help take care of her!'  
  
Julia instantly regretted her line of thought. She knew it wasn't baby Des's fault. She couldn't help who her father was. She also had no control over the fact that she looked like her father.  
  
Walking into the living room where Destiny was playing, she stopped to watch her play.  
  
Julia was a little amused to find her daughter talking to herself. She walked over and knelt by the little girl.  
  
"What are you doing, Baby?" Julia asked.  
  
"Playing Barbie's," Destiny said with a giggle.  
  
"Who are you talking to?"  
  
"Lily," Destiny replied simply.  
  
"Really. How do you know Lily?" Julia asked feeling a pain in her heart for her lost friend.  
  
"She says that since she's dead, only I can see her. James says that too but he's not here. He's with Harry."  
  
Not knowing what to say- and hoping that she had heard of Lily and James from the magical daycare- she just smiled and walked away thinking, 'Please don't let her be this centuries Necromancer. There has to be a different solution!'  
  
*****  
  
Unfortunately, as time passed, the list of names of the dead grew that Destiny Black knew. Julia had given her daughter her fathers' name in order to honor the innocent boy she had fallen in love with. The boy that hadn't been corrupted by the Dark Lord. It seemed that having given her Sirius Blacks' name had indeed been appropriate. It also seemed that the ability for the dark arts also ran in the family.  
  
By the time Destiny had turned six, it was confirmed that she was indeed a Necromancer.  
  
It didn't seem right to Julia that her sweet, friendly daughter could be something so evil as a Necromancer.  
  
Even at the age of five, Destiny had started showing signs of advanced necromancy. She liked to spend time near cemeteries, talked to people that no one else could see, and started being able to make the dead visible to the living.  
  
The day that Julia first found out about it was the day that Destiny was practicing on Lily Potter.  
  
Destiny had been in the back yard playing while her mother was putting away groceries and making dinner. Julia opened the door and headed to the bush her daughter was playing behind.  
  
"Can you pick that up?" Destiny asked amazed.  
  
"Yes! Look, Des! I'm solid! You did it! That's amazing!" a familiar voice shrieked.  
  
Curious, Julia walked around the bush to see who was playing with her daughter. Seeing who was sitting next to her daughter, Julia let out a piercing scream.  
  
Startled, Lily stood up and vanished.  
  
"Mommy, What's wrong? It's only Lily," Destiny asked innocently.  
  
Having just had her worst fears confirmed, Julia decides to start teaching her daughter to never let others know about her powers. Unfortunately for Julia, Destiny could see no wrong in her powers and used them as often as possible. Fortunately for the world, Destiny learned that her mothers' concern was only for herself, never for her. She started to only listen to the commands of James and Lily Potter- Two souls who wanted nothing more than for the dark side to be destroyed.  
  
  
  
A/N: Please review! I already have chapter prologue through four written but it takes me forever to type so I'll try to have a chapter per week. Please review!!!! Please, please!! 


	2. Diagon Alley and First Collisions

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.  
  
A/N: Please review! Please, please, please! ! !  
  
**IMPORTANT** Harry and company are 17. Destiny is 15 at the moment.  
  
DIAGON ALLEY AND FIRST COLLISIONS  
  
CHAPTER 2  
  
  
  
PRESENT  
  
*1997*  
  
Sighing at her mother's hostility, Destiny slid into her chair at the kitchen table. 'I can't wait to get to school. At least there she can't nag me for being who I am,' she thought. "So, what exactly did I do wrong?" Destiny asked.  
  
"I was sitting here at the kitchen table when the flower vase suddenly flew off the table. I know that vases don't fly, so it had to be one of your nasty little ghosts. Which means you helped!" Julia shrieked in anger.  
  
Destiny hurriedly shot a nasty look at James, who grinned and shrugged sheepishly, before turning back to her mother. "It wasn't me; I was asleep. It was James."  
  
"James Potter is dead. You helped him. Go to your room!"  
  
With another sigh, Destiny got up and went to her room. "Nice one, Potter."  
  
"It was an accident! I didn't realize I was even solid. I walked into it. err. or I floated into it! But that's not the point. The point is-"  
  
"Relax, Hun. It's not that big a deal. 'Sides it wouldn't be my life if she wasn't nagging on me."  
  
"Honestly! That has to be someone besides the girl I used to be friends with!" Lily said angrily, "She used to be so sweet!"  
  
"She's gotten even worse since my dad escaped Azkaban- Go Dad!" seeing the looks of amusement she was getting, Destiny shrugged. "What?"  
  
*****  
  
Life remained the same for Destiny until July 31, when her letter from Hogwarts arrived.  
  
Dear Miss Black, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of the necessary items, Term begins on September 1st. We look forward to having you at our school.  
  
Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress  
  
With a smile, Destiny folded up her letter and reached into the envelope to see her list. Pulling it out, she realized there was another letter besides the list. Curious, Destiny opened it.  
  
Miss Black,  
  
After reviewing your request to skip your 6th year and be advanced to your 7th, we have agreed, pending you first pass a test on ability and knowledge in every class. Please meet with me at the end of your first day of classes to discuss the permanency of your placement.  
  
Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore, HeadMaster (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chef. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)  
  
Giving a little shriek of happiness, Destiny jumped off the bed, grabbed Lily and started dancing around the room screaming, "I'm going to Hogwarts!"  
  
Destiny soon decided that Lily wasn't a very good dance partner when she kept trying to get away from her wild dancing. She quickly let go of Lily, much to Lily's relief, and started to dance with James, who was more than happy to dance like an idiot.  
  
*****  
  
On August 21st, Destiny headed towards Diagon Alley to get her schools supplies.  
  
Before leaving, James gave her very specific instructions: "Observe but don't intentually interact."  
  
'Okay, just observe. I can do that,' she thought agreeably.  
  
Destiny understood just how important it was to observe. She knew that she had to learn to act like the other children. At her other schools it hadn't been a problem. If she had been expelled, well. there were always other schools. But this time was different. This time she was going to school with a purpose, a mission so-to-speak.  
  
For the past two years of school, she had done nothing but study and practice Necromancy. In the last two years Destiny had managed to do the near impossible: she had completed four years of work in two. Making it even more difficult was the fact that every year she was forced to switch schools. She never openly flaunted her powers, but somehow people always found out, and the Headmaster or Headmistress was forced to expel her because parents were frightened for their children. Destiny had been working towards the goal of what her purpose at Hogwarts was. She was trying to overcome her age and put herself in the same year as Harry Potter. All of her hard work was because of a prophecy; a prophecy that said she would have to save the world at Harry Potter's side. So, that meant befriending the boy and the easiest way to do that was to be in all of his classes and be able to blend in. She would, of course, later have to tell him all about her unique.talents.  
  
She also practiced Necromancy for hours on end so that if she were to finally have to go up against Voldemort, she would be able to keep her ghost friends solid enough to allow her to escape.  
  
That, of course, was just what she said. Her real reason was knowing that when Voldemort rose to power again, many would die. She wanted to be able to help the souls trapped on Earth move to their final resting-place.  
  
'A lot of good it'll do all the souls and me if Voldemort kills me or the public finds out about my stupid powers. So, no touch, just seeing and hearing time,' Destiny thought. Walking into a dingy pub called The Leaky Cauldron, Destiny immediately wrinkled her nose. 'Yucky! This place needs a good scrubbing. and some of that smell good spray!'  
  
Walking out of the pub and into the courtyard, she poked the brick. Within seconds the entrance to Diagon Alley had been revealed.  
  
Looking around, Destiny was surprised to see so many people. 'So much for not touching! It's like being in a freaking zoo!' she thought disgruntledly.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she started walking towards Gringotts, the wizarding bank, to exchange muggle money into wizarding money. After exchanging the money, Destiny pulled out her list to see what she needed.  
  
~ Course Books ~  
  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 7) By Miranda Goshawk A History of Magic- Advanced By Bathilda Bagshot An Advanced Guide to Transfiguration By Melanie Himersmith One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi By Phyllida Spore Fighting the Forces of Dark: A Complete Defense Guide By Arnold Arb Advanced Potions By Gregor McGills The Monster Book of Monsters By Newt Seamander Charming Charms By Jen Jennings Unfogging the Future By Cassandra Vablatsky  
  
With a smile, Destiny began to collect her books. Going into the Transfiguration section, Destiny once again found something that annoyed her to no end.  
  
"Oh! That is so not right!" Destiny muttered darkly, jumping up and down trying to reach the book she wanted. "I hate being short!"  
  
"What's the matter midget? Having problems?" James asked laughing.  
  
"Oh, shut-up. Was I talking to you? No, I wasn't," she hissed looking over her shoulder to make sure no one saw her talking to seemingly thin air. "I can't reach!"  
  
"So, go get someone to help," Lily said reasonably.  
  
"I was just going to do that!" Destiny replied. Seeing the disbelieving looks she was getting, she muttered meekly, "I was." Heading around the shelf, Destiny walked up and tapped the first person she saw on the shoulder. "Excuse me. I was wondering if you could help me get." Destiny trailed off when she saw the nasty look she was getting from the man, who was obviously the boy she'd tapped on the shoulders father.  
  
"What do you think we are?" the older man snarled, "Your servant? There are people here who are paid to be your server. Go ask them!"  
  
"Geez, sorry. I guess it's to much to hope for, for you to actually be friendly!" Destiny spat before storming off to find someone else to help.  
  
As she turned the corner, she looked away from where she was walking and ran straight into the person who was standing there.  
  
*****  
  
The summer had been miserable for Harry Potter, as every other summer had been. The only difference was that this year, it was worse because Voldemort had gained even more power than before he'd fallen sixteen years ago.  
  
At the beginning of his fifth year, Professor Dumbledore had told him of a secret organization called The Order of the Phoenix. The organization was created to fight the dark forces. It was made up of the most powerful of the magical community in Europe. When Dumbledore had first come to him about it, he hadn't known what to think. After a bit of convincing though, Harry had started to train to be part of the Order. By the end of his sixth year, he had completed his training. He knew that as soon as he got back to Hogwarts, the Order would officially initiate him.  
  
For the moment though, he was at Flourish and Blotts, in Diagon Alley, with his two best friends. Harry had been staying at the Weasleys' for the past two days and Hermione had met them there so they could go together to shop for their seventh year school supplies. He was currently standing in the Divination section of the store, laughing at the books and people who were strange enough to write them.  
  
Harry was trying to balance his new course books, while reaching for a particularly funny book, when a girl ran straight into him and sent his books flying in every direction. He tried to catch his balance by grabbing the girl but ended up knocking them both to the floor.  
  
"I'm sorry!" Harry said and hurriedly got up and helped her stand.  
  
"No it was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going," the girl said embarrassed. She started to bend down to pick up the fallen books at the same moment as Harry and they're heads collided with a loud smack.  
  
"Ow!" Harry groaned rubbing his forehead.  
  
"Ouch! Geez, we're having all sorts of problems!" the girl said in a laughing voice.  
  
While picking up the books, Harry glanced over at her. She was, without a doubt, one of the prettiest girls he'd seen, even if she was kind of clumsy.  
  
"My names Destiny," she suddenly announced. "What's yours?"  
  
A little startled, he glanced up. It had been a long time since anyone in the wizarding world had failed to recognize him.  
  
"Umm. I'm. uh. I'm Harry," he said turning red when he realized how close his face was to hers. "Harry Potter."  
  
She just smiled and said, "Well, it's nice to meet you Harry Potter." Putting her last book on her pile, she stood up.  
  
Desperate not to let her get away just yet, he asked quickly, "So, where are you from?"  
  
Looking at him curiously, Destiny asked, "What makes you think I'm not from around here?"  
  
"Oh, your accent, it's not English."  
  
Laughing, she smacked herself in the forehead, "Should've thought of that! And no, you're right. I'm not from here. I'm from the US. My mother and I just moved here."  
  
"Really? Are you going to Hogwarts this-"  
  
"Hey, Harry! Come on! My mum wants to go to the Apothecary." Ron shouted from across the shop where him and Hermione had gone and collected the rest of their books.  
  
"Well, I have to be going anyway. It was fun running into you. literally!" Destiny grinned easily. Giving a little wave, she said goodbye, walked away with her books and started trying to find the ones on her list she was missing.  
  
"Yeah," Harry whispered, "See yea." After picking up his books and paying for them, him and his friends headed out of the store.  
  
"So, Harry, who was the cute girl you were talking to?" Ron asked slyly.  
  
"Just a girl. She ran into me as she went around the corner and knocked us both down," Harry replied. "But then you'd know exactly what had happened if you hadn't run off. Where did you go?"  
  
"We saw you and the girl collide and were going to help you but my mum was calling. We just decided you could handle it and went over to talk to her. Besides, you didn't look like you wanted us to help." Ron said jokingly. Seeing the dirty look Harry was giving him, he laughed and slapped his friend on the back. "Calm down mate. I was just joking. Besides, you need a girlfriend. When was the last time you dated?" Not waiting for a reply, he answered himself. "Over a year Harry! You haven't dated anyone since you broke up with Cho Chang at the end of fifth year! I think-"  
  
"Ron!" Harry yelled, "If I wanted a girlfriend, I'd have one. Stop nagging. Besides, I can't just go out with girls I don't know!"  
  
"So go back in there and ask if you can take her out to get some ice cream," Ron suggested. Seeing that a fight was brewing, Hermione decided to step in. "Hey guys, come on. Mrs. Wealsey is waiting."  
  
*****  
  
After her run in with Harry, Destiny was decidedly less than happy. Walking down the street, on her way to Madam Malkins for new robes, Destiny was frowning at James. James, though he hadn't wanted her to run into Harry just yet, thought their encounter had been hilarious.  
  
"You should have seen your face! Oh! When Harry grabbed you to keep from falling." At this, James started laughing to hard to continue. Even Lily was giggling behind her hand- which did nothing to cover the snorts of her laughter.  
  
As the day continued, Destiny saw Harry and his friends several more times, but managed to avoid them each time. That night, when Destiny got home, she happily marked another day off her calendar.  
  
"Only eight more days," she whispered, "Eight more days here and then I'm off to Hogwarts. Only one more year of school and I'm free. Free of parents, free of school and most importantly, free to never have to be someone I'm not again. Only eight more days.  
  
  
  
A/N: Thank you to Keeper of Dreams (Your review was funny(), Nacasara, Moonhowla, and Aalilyah for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the story!  
  
You know I just figured out what A/N means! I'm such an idiot!  
  
If anyone has any good stories that I can read, send them to me in an e- mail or if you just want to e-mail me, that would be great too!  
  
REVIEW!!!! PLEASE!!! You have no idea how great it is to see that someone is actually reading your story!!  
  
I'm not British so if the characters don't sound like it, well, I'm sure you can figure out why. ^.^ 


	3. The Sorting Hat and New Friendships

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well, I own Destiny… isn't she great!  
  
A/N: !!!!!!REVIEW!!!!!! Come on peeps! Just say good or bad! It takes 5 seconds! Okay. On to the story!  
  
  
  
1 The Sorting Hat and New Friendships  
  
2 Chapter 3  
  
  
  
"You've got to be kidding me!" Destiny said with wide eyes as she stared at the barrier between platforms nine and ten.  
  
"Look," James said reasonably, "All you have to do is walk through the barrier and you'll be on the platform."  
  
"It's a wall," Destiny stated.  
  
"Yes, Hunny, we can see that," Lily said smiling.  
  
"No I don't think you understand! It's a freaking brick wall!" Seeing the looks she was getting, Destiny exclaimed in exasperation, "You can't just walk through walls!… Well, you two can, but that's not the point! I'm still alive! Therefore I can NOT walk through walls!"  
  
"Look, just wait for another family to come, You'll see that we're not just trying to make you look like an idiot. Though that could be fun…" James said slyly.  
  
SMACK! Destiny quickly looked over at the Potters to see what had happened. There stood James clutching his cheek and glaring at Lily. Lily just stood there with a smug little 'serves you right' look.  
  
"I can't believe you just hit me!" James exclaimed.  
  
"She's nervous enough without your help. Leave her alone," Lily said calmly.  
  
"Yea, well, you didn't have to hit me!"  
  
"It didn't even hurt you! You're dead! You can't feel pain!"  
  
Shaking her head in exasperation, Destiny looked around for somebody she could ask for help.  
  
Seeing nobody, she turned and glared at the Potters.  
  
"You better not be playing another trick on me."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Destiny grabbed her trunk, closed her eyes and ran at the barrier. When she didn't hit it, she opened her eyes and looked around. "Well, I'll be… They were telling the truth," she whispered.  
  
After dragging her trunk onto the train, she started looking for a compartment.  
  
Most of the compartments were filled but it didn't matter. She was looking for a specific person…  
  
After being through all but the last compartment, she sighed. 'Looks like I'll be sitting here,' she thought.  
  
Opening the compartment, she looked in to see a girl with wavy brown hair. She was reading a book for Charms class and actually looked interested in it!  
  
'Man! And I thought I was a nerd!' Destiny thought. "Um… Hi! Can I sit here? Everywhere else has tons of people." The brown haired girl looked up and smiled. 'Well, at least she's friendly! That's something at least.'  
  
"Of course you can sit here! My names Hermione Granger and I'm a 7th year. Who are you? What year are you in?"  
  
Destiny just blinked in shock. It took her a moment to absorb what the girl had said. 'Wow. She said that so fast, she didn't even have to take a breath!'  
  
After being nudged by Lily, she started talking.  
  
"I'm Destiny and I'm going to be in 7th year also."  
  
"But how can that be? You aren't seventeen yet, are you?"  
  
Before Destiny could answer, the door slid open and two people entered. She recognized them right away, both from having met one of them and having heard stories from the Potters about the other one.  
  
Apparently, Hermione recognized them too because she immediately called them over to meet her "new friend".  
  
"Guys, this is Destiny. She's going to be in her seventh year too," Hermione stated.  
  
"Hey! I know you!" Harry exclaimed. "We ran into each other at Flourish and Blotts!"  
  
"Yea, You're Harry Potter. You took my book!" Destiny replied.  
  
"What?"  
  
"My Divination book. We ran into each other and dropped our books. I grabbed one of yours and you grabbed one of mine."  
  
Turning around to dig in her trunk for the book, she said, "I accidentally bought it. I hope you bought mine 'cause otherwise I haven't got a book for that class!"  
  
It turned out that Harry had indeed bought Destiny's book.  
  
"So, back to my question from before. How old are you?" Hermione asked.  
  
"I'm fifteen. I'll be sixteen on March 30th," Destiny replied.  
  
"If you're fifteen, how are you going to be in seventh year?" Ron asked confused.  
  
Sighing, Destiny explained how she had completed four years of work in two.  
  
"Wow. Hermione tried to take more than the required classes back in third ear and it almost drove her insane," Harry said with and amused smile.  
  
"It was the time turner! I was exhausted!" Hermione said defensively.  
  
"I didn't use a time turner," Destiny said. "I just spent all my time working… It's not like anyone actually wanted me around," she mumbled.  
  
"What?" asked Ron.  
  
"Nothing. So, what house do you think I'll be in?"  
  
"Well, there are four houses," Hermione explained. "There's Ravenclaw for the clever, Hufflepuff for the loyal, Slytherin for the cunning-"  
  
"And evil," Harry added, interrupting Hermione.  
  
Giving him an agreeing look, she continued: "And then there's Gryffindor for the brave. Us three are all in Gryffindor."  
  
"I think I'd like to be in Gryffindor. Ravenclaw doesn't seem too bad though. But I don't want to be in Slytherin. I wouldn't want to be thought of as evil before people even tried to get to know me," Destiny replied in a light tone, all the while thinking, 'If they knew, they'd think I belonged in Slytherin… No! I won't be bitter. I'm a good person, so I won't end up there.'  
  
They continued talking and before they knew it, they had reached Hogwarts.  
  
Climbing in to the waiting carriages, Destiny glanced over her shoulder and smiled. James immediately gave her a thumbs up and a smile. Signaling that she'd meet him at the castle, she climbed into the carriage and sat next to Ron and across from Harry.  
  
"Nervous?" Harry asked with a smile.  
  
'Dang! He looks like James! He even smile like him!' Destiny thought with astonishment. "Why do you ask?" she asked.  
  
"Because you look like you're going to be sick."  
  
Giving a weak smile, she shrugged. "I'm fine." Seeing that he knew she was lying, she tried again. "Really, I'll be okay. Besides, putting a hat on in front of the entire school can't be worse than having to spend time with my mother."  
  
'Or worse than being expelled from a school just because people don't like differences,' Destiny thought regretfully.  
  
"Well, at least you don't have to worry about a mistake having been made about having powers or not," Harry said teasingly. "That's good at least."  
  
"Come on guys. We're here!" Ron said, jumping up and quickly climbing from the carriage.  
  
After entering the huge castle, Destiny asked, "Do you know where I can find Professor McGonagall? I got a letter saying to meet with her and she'd take me to where I'll be sorted at."  
  
"If you just stay here, McGonagall will come here to collect the first years," Hermione said. Giving Destiny a smile, she added, "Good luck!"  
  
"Thanks. For talking to me and being nice and all," Destiny said absentmindedly, while thinking about how important the next few minutes were going to be to the world. If she didn't make it into Gryffindor, it was going to make it nearly impossible to become good enough friends that she would be able to gain enough trust to tell him about being a Necromancer.  
  
Giving her a strange look, Harry replied, "No problem," Then giving her a smile he said, hope to see you at the Gryffindor table. I'll save you a seat."  
  
Destiny was left standing alone as they walked into the Great Hall. Taking the chance to look around, she was a little impressed. There were staircases everywhere and every once in a while, one would move to another spot. There were many hallways and none seemed to be leading in the direction it should be. With a happy smile, she thought of the fun she would have trying to find every secret passage and forbidden room in the castle.  
  
Sensing a presence behind her, she calmly turned to see who was approaching her. The woman headed towards her had gray-black hair in a tight bun, glasses, and a stern expression. Destiny knew immediately that this lady was Professor Minerva McGonagall.  
  
"Destiny Black?" the Professor asked.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. Professor McGonagall?" Destiny asked mockingly.  
  
Giving Destiny a stern look but choosing to allow her comment to pass, she started to tell her exactly how her sorting was going to take place.  
  
"You will be taken into the Great Hall along with the new first years. The first years will be sorted and then you will be introduced as a transfer student from…?"  
  
"I went to Salem Academy of Magic last year," Destiny provided.  
  
"Very well. You will be introduced and sorted. That is all you'll have to do," Professor McGonagall said shortly.  
  
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!  
  
As McGonagall went to open the door for the first years, Destiny hurriedly looked around for the Potters. Seeing them standing behind her, she gave them a weak smile.  
  
Seeing how nervous she was about not being in Gryffindor, Lily went over to her.  
  
"Turn and watch what McGonagall's doing. You don't want her to be suspicious of you before you're even sorted." Turning to watch McGonagall open the doors, she listened to Lily's advice. "The hat will immediately see your mission. Tell it how important it is for you to be in Gryffindor," Lily said calmly.  
  
"Just remember- All will be well and there is nothing in this world to fear if you just face it," James said soothingly.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Destiny focused her attention on what McGonagall was saying to the first years that were waiting to be taken in and sorted.  
  
"…I will return in a few minutes. In the meantime, try to make yourselves more presentable."  
  
Reaching up to smooth her hair, she thought, 'Here we go. Okay, Des, you have to make an impression to last. Now, what impression do I want to give…'  
  
Thinking hard, she decided that being cool and confident would be the best impression. Putting on a face that said, "I can't believe they think this is important" she turned to face the first years.  
  
"What are you looking at?" she asked a group of little kids that were looking at her.  
  
"Aren't you a little old to be a first year?" a blonde boy asked curiously.  
  
"I'm a seventh year. I'm transferring from America," she said.  
  
"Oh, we don't really have to ride a dragon do we?" the boy asked nervously. "My Dad said we did…"  
  
"No. You have to… fight a Boggart. And occasionally, the Boggart turns into something really bad and kills all the first years. But don't worry. I'm sure you all know how to stop one." With that she walked to the other side of the room to wait.  
  
By the time Professor McGonagall returned, all the first years had heard about the Boggart and were hysterical.  
  
"What in the world is going on!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed.  
  
Snickering into her hand, she walked up to McGonagall and said in her newly acquired confidence, "They're fine. They're just nervous. Time to go, right?  
  
By the look she was receiving. She knew that the Professor knew she was the cause of the panic.  
  
Apparently deciding that she had had enough, McGonagall yelled for everyone to calm down and make a single file line.  
  
Before they entered the Great Hall, the Professor asked her to remain outside until they had finished sorting the first years.  
  
As Destiny waited for her name to be called, she took the chance to glance into the room from the doorway where she stood. She saw four long tables and many people watching the sorting. She finally distinguished Harry out of the crowd.  
  
'So that's Gryffindor…'  
  
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the sorting of the first years ended.  
  
"We also have a transfer student from America here to spend her seventh year. Black, Destiny!" McGonagall called.  
  
Not hearing so much as a whisper, Destiny cringed. 'Well what did you expect? You know people hate your father. You'll just have to work a bit harder to fit in,' she thought to herself.  
  
Pasting on her confident face, she walked out calmly and sat on the stool. Just before she dropped the hat onto her head, she heard people start to whisper.  
  
"Black!"  
  
"As in a relative of Sirius Black?"  
  
"Do you think she's ever met the murderer?"  
  
Hearing the last comment, she ground her teeth together to calm her anger. It would do no good to reveal her powers by forcing the ghosts to attack the kid.  
  
As soon as the hat settled, she heard a voice talking in her head.  
  
"Well, well, what do we have here? Sirius Blacks' daughter?"  
  
'Yes, Sir,' she thought.  
  
"Yes, yes. I remember your father. Very talented. Very loyal. Would have made a good Hufflepuff if not for the fact that he was guaranteed to be a troublemaker. Now let's see… Plenty of brains… Oh yes and there is talent. One of the most talented I've had to sort in years. Also loyalty and bravery. Your bravery comes from your loyalty, but I don't think Hufflepuff is for you. Maybe Ravenclaw… No, no… not Ravenclaw. You're naturally talented but not eager to have to study… Oh, my! The ability to speak to the dead! I have not seen one of your kind here in over three hundred years! Slytherin would accept you without any hesi-"  
  
"No!" She accidentally yelled out loud. Hearing the laughter of the school, she thought to the hat, 'No. Please. The prophesy!'  
  
"No, I don't suppose Slytherin would accept someone whose goal is to save the world. Then it best be GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Hearing the last word yelled out loud, she felt a wave of relief. Pulling the hat off, she stood up and walked to the seat Harry had saved for her among unenthusiastic applause.  
  
Dumbledore stood up with a smile after Destiny sat down.  
  
"Welcome to a new year! I hope you've forgotten everything and are ready to refill those empty heads. Now, for anyone who wants to check, a complete list of forbidden objects has been posted in Mr. Filch's office. The Forbidden Forest is still forbidden- hence its name. It would do well for some of our more… adventurous students to remember that. In light of Voldemorts' ever-increasing terror, Hogsmeade trips maybe canceled at a moment's notice. Do not leave the grounds without permission. If you are caught off grounds, you will be expelled… Now! On a lighter note, let's eat!"  
  
With that Dumbledore sat down and began to eat the food that had just appeared.  
  
*****  
  
After Harry, Ron and Hermione left Destiny in the Entrance Hall, they proceeded into the Great Hall. After sitting down, Ron turned to his friends.  
  
"So, what house do you think she'll be in?" he asked.  
  
"If she is really as smart and studious as she says, then she'll be in Ravenclaw," Hermione said in a know-it-all voice. Seeing the amused looks she was getting from everyone around her, she asked defensively, "What!"  
  
Shaking his head in disbelief, Ron said, "I'm not really sure. She's too nice to be in Slytherin and doesn't act like she likes to study. She's really friendly though. I think she'd make a good Hufflepuff."  
  
"I hope she gets into Gryffindor. I like her, she's sweet," Harry said absentmindedly. Seeing the looks he was getting, he groaned. "I didn't mean I liked her like that! She just reminds me of someone…"  
  
"Yeah, I've noticed that," Hermione agreed, nodding her head. "But who?"  
  
"Oh! I know!" Harry exclaimed. He quickly lowered his voice and said, "Snuffles! She reminds me of him!"  
  
At that moment, McGonagall led the first years out and the sorting began.  
  
"Where is she?" Harry asked as the Transfiguration teacher called the names of the new students.  
  
"Well, they probably have her waiting somewhere. They wouldn't want a bunch of noise while they were sorting. I mean, if she was out there, people would be trying to figure out who she was," Hermione said reasonably.  
  
After all the first years had been sorted, Harry leaned forward eagerly.  
  
He hadn't wanted to admit he liked Destiny as more than a friend. Especially after the comment about Sirius. But for some reason, every since she had ran into him, he had felt drawn to her. It was strange how, when he was with her, he felt the loneliness of missing his parents lessen. He also felt like his best friend had come home.  
  
McGonagall quickly made her speech, "We also have a transfer student from America here to spend her seventh year. Black, Destiny!"  
  
Harry's eyes widened in shock. 'Black? Did she just say Black? No wonder she reminded me of Sirius! I bet she's related to him!'  
  
Harry could hear people all over the Great Hall whispering, and it wasn't nice things either.  
  
"I bet she helped him escape."  
  
"If she's related to Black then she's probably a Death Eater too!"  
  
"What is Dumbledore thinking, knowingly letting Death Eaters in!"  
  
Ignoring the whispers, Harry turned back to where Destiny was being sorted.  
  
After having seen how happy and friendly she was on the train, he was a little surprised to see the look of utter sadness and loneliness in her eyes. He knew that nobody else would see the look through the mask of cool confidence she wore.  
  
His mind immediately drifted back to what she had said earlier: 'Thanks for talking to me and being nice.'  
  
'She honestly didn't expect us to be nice to her. From the look she had in her eyes, I think she's used to rejection. I'll just have to make sure to be extra nice to her… And find a way to ask if she's related to Sirius.'  
  
He became a little worried when the hat didn't say anything for a while.  
  
He was startled when Destiny suddenly shouted, "No!"  
  
After another minute, the sorting hat proclaimed Destiny a Gryffindor, much to her relief- though many at the table looked disgusted at the thought of having a Black in their house.  
  
*****  
  
After Dumbledore had made his speech, Harry turned to Destiny and while smiling, asked, "What took so long? You were up there for ten minutes!"  
  
Giving a little laugh, Destiny replied, "The hat was reminiscing about sorting my Dad and then we got into a bit of a fight."  
  
"Is that why you yelled out 'No' all of the sudden?" Ron asked with a smile.  
  
Smiling sheepishly, she replied, "It was going through its spiel of why I should be in one house or another. You know, it said loyal enough for Hufflepuff, clever enough for Ravenclaw, and then it was saying that I was ambitious enough for Slytherin. Needless to say, you can figure out what happened next."  
  
"It wanted to put you in Slytherin?" Hermione asked with surprise. "You're to nice to be a Slytherin!"  
  
"It wanted to put me in Slytherin," Harry said trying to make Destiny feel better. "Slytherins are just supposed to be ambitious but unfortunately, their ambitions make them do anything to get what they want."  
  
"Never knew you were so insightful in the ways of Slytherins," Ron said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Turning to Destiny, Ron asked, "So do you like Quidditch?"  
  
"Of course! Who wouldn't? Are there going to be any positions open this year? Who's on the team?"  
  
"Whoa! Slow down!" Harry exclaimed with a laugh. "There's going to be a chaser position and a beater position open. What position do you usually play?"  
  
"I usually play seeker 'cause it's the funnest position," Destiny said happily.  
  
"Funnest?" Hermione asked cringing. "It's 'most fun'."  
  
"Whatever," Destiny responded giving an absentminded wave of her hand. "I'm not horrible at chaser but I've never tried playing beater. Who's on the team?"  
  
Before Harry could answer, Ron started talking. "Well, I play keeper and then the two chasers we have left are my little sister Ginny and her friend Ashley Berry. Our beater is Sam Janson and our seeker is Harry. Harry's also the captain, so if you suck up to him, you may get a position."  
  
Laughing, Destiny turned back to her food.  
  
The conversations continued in the same happy manner until dinner was over.  
  
As Destiny walked with her new friends, she realized that she was happy. For the first time in her life, she had friends that everyone could she. For the first time, she felt she belonged…  
  
  
  
A/N: Thank you to orca, nycgal, wade, and Loverofbooks for reviewing! It made my day!  
  
Please review!!!!  
  
Sorry about not having the chapter out when I said it would be. Life decided to get in the way and school has to come first. I'll try to have the next chapter out in a week a week or so.  
  
If anyone knows of any good stories to read, tell me. Also tell me if you've read any real books lately that were good. Thanks to all! 


	4. Befriending Enemies and Destiny's Rotten...

Disclaimer: I own Destiny and the plot. JK Rowling's owns everything else.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Befriending Enemies and Destiny's Rotten Luck  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
  
When Destiny woke up the next morning, for a moment she didn't know where she was. Looking around, she sighed. 'I'm at Hogwarts, in the seventh year girls' dorm.'  
  
She quickly looked around for her two best friends, who had always been there when she went to sleep, and when she woke up. Checking to be sure that her new dorm mates were still asleep, Destiny smiled at Lily and James. Waving them over, she quickly shut the hangings on her bed.  
  
"I don't want anyone to hear me talking, so I'm just going to nod and gesture, okay?"  
  
"Alright," Lily said. "Do you like the Gryffindor house?"  
  
Destiny nodded happily.  
  
"So, what do you think of Harry?" James asked with a grin.  
  
With a grin she pointed at her eyes and then pointed at James.  
  
"What?" James asked.  
  
"She said you look like Harry," Lily translated.  
  
Smiling even wider, Destiny closed her eyes and fanned herself with her hand. She quickly reopened her eyes when she heard Lily start to laugh.  
  
  
  
"So let me get this straight. You think that Harry looks like James and that Harry is hot?" Turning to look at her husband, Lily said still giggling, "James, Destiny thinks you're hot!"  
  
"Yes, I gathered that," he replied, grinning.  
  
Shaking her head at her crazy friends, Destiny climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom.  
  
By the time Destiny had finished in the bathroom, everyone else was getting up.  
  
"Good morning!" Destiny chirped at her three roommates. Hermione smiled as she put on her shoes. "Hi!" Destiny said to the two other girls in the room. "I'm Destiny Black. What's your names?"  
  
Sneering at her, one of the girls replied, "Black? Are you related to the murderer Sirius Black?"  
  
"What does it matter if I am or not? I'm trying to be your friend. I'm not trying to make you be his friend."  
  
Sticking her nose in the air, the girl said snottily, "We don't consort with Death Eaters." With that, the two girls stalked out of the room, glaring at Hermione as they passed.  
  
After a moment of silence, Destiny said amusedly, "Nice girls. Remind me to never ask them if we can paint each others toe nails." Hermione laughed at the thought of Destiny trying to befriend them. "Who are they?"  
  
"The one who made the Death Eater comment was Parvati. The other one is Lavender. Just ignore them, they're not worth spending time with." After a moment's hesitation, Hermione asked, "Are you related to Sirius Black?"  
  
Sighing, Destiny turned to look at Hermione. "Yes, I am."  
  
"How are you related?"  
  
For a minute, Hermione didn't think she was going to answer.  
  
"I'm his daughter." Seeing the look of shock on Hermiones' face, she cringed. "Just say whatever you're thinking. It'll make you feel better." 'Oh man. I should've kept my mouth shut,' she thought.  
  
".You know he's innocent don't you?" Seeing the surprised look on Destiny's face, Hermione continued. "Harry, Ron, and I found out in our third year. Didn't you know?"  
  
"I've always known. My mother still believes he's guilty but I know it was all Peter Pettigrew's fault."  
  
Seeing Hermione's smile, she smiled back and waited for the inevitable mountain of questions that would come.  
  
"I've never heard Sirius mention a daughter before. Have you seen each other recently?"  
  
Giving a sad sigh, Destiny looked down at her lap. "He doesn't even know I exist. My mom found out she was pregnant with me the day after my father was sent to Azkaban." Seeing the pitying look she was getting, she said roughly, "Hey, don't pity me. Pity's something I can do without."  
  
"Sorry," Hermione said sheepishly. "I can't wait to tell Harry though!"  
  
"No!" Seeing Hermione's startled expression, she said, "I want to tell him. I'll explain everything I know then. Okay?"  
  
"Okay," Hermione said happily. "Oh! And maybe we can introduce you to Sirius! Would you want to do that?"  
  
Smiling, Destiny relied wistfully, "Yeah. I'd like that."  
  
*****  
  
Destiny and Hermione decided to tell Harry and Ron later when class wouldn't interrupt them.  
  
"Hey guys," Harry greeted them as he shoveled food onto his plate. "Where have you been? We waited for you but you never showed up."  
  
"We were talking. In fact, we all need to have a little chat later," Destiny said seriously as she slid into her seat.  
  
Having arrived late, the Great Hall was already crowded and noisy. Professor Dumbledore stood up and raised his hands for quiet.  
  
"I'm pleased to inform you that our Defense against the Dark Arts professor has arrived. Our fifth through seventh years may remember him. I'm happy to say that Professor Lupin will once again be teaching."  
  
At this pronouncement, all the students that remembered him- including most of the Slytherins- cheered. Those who hadn't had him clapped politely anyways.  
  
"I can't believe he's back!" Ron exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"He was definitely the best defense teacher we've ever had!" Hermione included.  
  
Destiny just sat as still as stone. 'This wasn't supposed to happen! He wasn't supposed to be here! As soon as he gets near me, he's going to know there's something wrong with me!'  
  
"I can't wait until his class," Harry said happily as he helped himself to more bacon. Turning to Destiny, he enthusiastically, "You're really going to like him. When we have defense, we'll go early so you can meet him."  
  
With a strained smile, she forced herself to reply. "Great!" she grinned, all the while thinking desperately of how to avoid Remus Lupin for as long as possible.  
  
As Professor McGonagall passed out the schedules, Destiny took one look at hers and groaned silently. 'That's it!' Destiny thought frantically. 'I'm cursed! There's no other explanation for it! Nobody is capable of having this much bad luck!'  
  
The schedule said that, not only did she have to deal with the werewolf professor first, she also had potions with a man that hated her father- therefore guaranteeing his hatred for her. To make matters even worse, she had Care of Magical Creatures- where every animal would fear her- and Divination, a class that was sure to cause problems.  
  
'Harry could have taken Arithmacy and Muggle Studies, but NO! Nothing can ever be easy for me!'  
  
"Look Harry!" Hermione said excitedly. "We have Lupin first! We can take Destiny to meet him now!"  
  
Thinking quickly, Destiny hurriedly said, "Oh, I'm sure he to busy at the moment to meet me-"  
  
"Of course he isn't!" Ron said oblivious to her discomfort. "I'm sure he'd like to meet any of Harry's friends."  
  
Grabbing her arm, they hauled her out of her seat, through the castle, to the Defense against the Dark Arts room. Knocking, they walked into the classroom.  
  
Inside was a tall man with graying brown hair. Though very thin, Destiny could sense the power and strength that hung around him like a cloak. The others couldn't see the aura of power like she could, even if they'd known what to look for. But then, they hadn't spent most of their lives looking at two plains of existence at once. She knew that, though he wouldn't be able to see what she was, he would be able to sense the power that classified her as 'Not Human'.  
  
"Professor Lupin!"  
  
"Well hello. I didn't expect any students to show up early. How are you?"  
  
"We're great! We wanted to introduce you to the new transfer student. This is-"  
  
Destiny quickly interrupted before they could reveal her last name. If Lupin found out during class, then he wouldn't be able to ask any questions. hopefully. "Hey! I'm Destiny!" Holding out her hand, she smiled, trying to ignore her instincts that told her to run and not let anybody find out about her powers. Not to let anybody else have a reason to treat her differently... To keep them from treating her like a monster, a plague.  
  
Looking at him, she could see realization come over him.  
  
Giving him a pleading look, she started to drop her hand to her side. He must have recognized the sad, lonely look in her eyes that few ever bothered to see because he instantly reached out and shook her hand.  
  
"Well, Destiny, it's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
Giving a relieved sigh, she stepped back and allowed the others to continue their conversation. The entire time they talked, she noticed that the werewolf kept glancing thoughtfully in her direction.  
  
When the rest of the students arrived, she hurriedly went and sat near the door.  
  
'Quick escape. Definitely going to have to make one,' she thought pensively.  
  
Smiling, Professor Lupin quickly took roll call.  
  
"Lavender Brown?"  
  
"Here!"  
  
"Destiny Black?" As soon as he said her name, his head jerked up, startled. "Black?" he whispered.  
  
"Yes, Sir, that is my last name. I believe you were calling roll." Destiny said in a quiet, cold voice.  
  
Giving himself a little shake, he nodded and continued.  
  
Defense class went fast. They discussed everything they had been taught in order to find out what had been learned and what had been missed. Eager to prove that even if she was a Black, she was still smart, she spent the entire class competing with Hermione to get her hand in the air first. When the bell rang, she quickly grabbed her book bag and stuffed everything inside of it.  
  
"No homework. Have a good day. Destiny, could I have a word with you?"  
  
Trying no to grind her teeth in annoyance, Destiny waited until everyone had left before heading up to the teachers' desk. As soon as she had made sure that everyone was gone, she dropped the innocent face and snarled, "How much have you figured out?"  
  
If he was surprised at her bluntness, he didn't show it. "You're not human. My guess is that you're the Necromancer or something close to it."  
  
'Oh this is great, just great!' she thought frantically. 'Okay besides my freakout, I may still be able to salvage this mess.When in doubt, play dumb!'  
  
"A what? I don't know what you're talking about." Thinking fast, she added, "I thought this was about my last name."  
  
"Stop playing stupid. You're not dumb nor are you as innocent as you pretend to be. You proved that during class today."  
  
'Crap! Me and my big mouth!' she thought angrily.  
  
"Alright, you know. What are you going to do about it?"  
  
Looking annoyed, Lupin asked defensively, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, you're going to tell Dumbledore, right? I mean, I'm dangerous. Everyone knows that Necromancers are evil, that we don't have souls or feelings. I mean, that is what you were thinking, right?"  
  
Seeing the look of horror on his face, she knew that he would never tell. He might even become one of her rare, trusted friends.  
  
"Of course I won't tell." Seeing the relief flash over her face, he added, "You will have to answer a few of my questions though."  
  
"Should've expected that." Smiling at her comment, he let her continue. "So, what do you want to know?"  
  
"Your last name is Black. I'm assuming you're Julia Snow's daughter?"  
  
Grimacing, Destiny said, "Yeah, unfortunately."  
  
"So, that would also make you Sirius Blacks' daughter." Before she could reply, he stood up from where he was sitting on his desk and began to pace. "You do know that-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Destiny interrupted, "I know. He's innocent. Next question."  
  
"You're really rude. You are aware of that, aren't you?"  
  
"I've heard it runs in the family. Much like my pranking sense of humor."  
  
"Padfoot number two?"  
  
"But of course!"  
  
*****  
  
After a few more questions about her family, Lupin sent her off with a pass to her next class.  
  
Destiny smiled as she thought of what Remus Lupin had said to her before she'd left. 'If he give you a detention for being late, I'll make sure you serve it with me so you don't actually have to do anything.'  
  
Smirking, she whispered, "Lead on, Jamsie Boy!"  
  
"Jamsie Boy! Why I outta."  
  
Destiny laughed as James jumped around, waving his fists like a boxer.  
  
"Pwease!" she pouted.  
  
"Not the face! No, please!" Screaming dramatically, James Potter took off at a run- or a float since his feet weren't actually touching the floor- with Destiny right on his tail.  
  
After running for five minutes, they finally made it to the dungeon classroom, Destiny panting pathetically. Taking a deep breath to control her breathing, she rapped twice on the door before walking on in.  
  
"Sorry I'm late, Professor Snape. Professor Lupin asked to see me after class."  
  
Destiny stood there and waited to see what would happen next. Sure enough, the greasy haired, hook nosed teacher slowly approached in a threatening manner.  
  
'You think you're so scary,' Destiny thought with disdain. 'I wish you'd seen some of the more grotesque ghosts I've had to deal with. I wish I could make James solid and let him kick the crap out of you.'  
  
"So. You think you have the right to just walk into my class at whatever time you feel is appropriate? Ten points for insubordination."  
  
Raising an eyebrow, she flashed him a smile and turned to walk to an empty seat by a blonde boy, on the opposite side of the classroom from Harry. As she walked, she concentrated on making James solid enough to move objects but still be invisible. Hearing snickering from the Potters, she knew James had done his job.  
  
"Where are you going? I have not finished with you yet!" Snape growled angrily.  
  
And then it happened.  
  
Snape went to take a step forward and immediately fell to the floor. Lily and James could be seen- by her anyway- howling with laughter. James had apparently decided to not only tie Snape's shoes together, but to also tie them to a desk. After a stunned silence, everyone burst out laughing.  
  
Gaining some control over herself, she managed to ask in a voice that would never be mistaken for anything but mocking, "Oh, Sir! Are you alright?"  
  
Growling, Snape quickly pointed his wand at his shoes and untied them before getting to his feet.  
  
"You did it," he whispered quietly. All the laughter immediately stopped. "Detention and fifty points from Gryffindor. Not making a very good start are you? Losing sixty points for your house on the first day."  
  
With that, he turned and walked to the front of the class, where he began to give instructions for making the floating potion.  
  
Smirking at Snape for his stupid manner of inflicting fear, she turned to the boy next to her, who was to be her partner. As she looked at him, she sighed. It was the boy she had asked to help her get a book in Flourish and Blotts.  
  
Pasting on a friendly smile, she chirped, "Hi! I'm Destiny! Who're you?"  
  
"Draco Malfoy," the boy said shortly, obviously not thrilled at having to work with her.  
  
Cringing to herself, she thought, 'Oh, yeah. Definitely cursed. Well, if I have to be stuck with him for the next two hours, I might as well try to befriend him. Man! I want to go back to where everyone hated and ignored me! At least there, I never had to act like a freaking airhead!'  
  
"Well, hello Draco Malfoy! So, let's get started on our potion. Are you very good at this?" she asked as she carefully started shredding the Moonweed Puff.  
  
"Yes. Don't you dare do anything that will mess up my potion."  
  
"Don't worry. Not eager to have to hang out with Snape anymore than I have to. You're a Slytherin, right?"  
  
Seeing that she wasn't going to give up on the conversation, he reluctantly started to talk to her. "Yes, I am."  
  
"Do you like it there or do you wish you had been put somewhere else?"  
  
"I'm glad I'm in Slytherin. If I wasn't though, I'd want to be a Ravenclaw."  
  
Smiling, she exclaimed, "See! We do have something in common! We'd both want to be in Ravenclaw if we weren't in the house that we're in!"  
  
"Shh!" Draco said with a small smile tugging at his lips. "Don't draw Snape's attention to you!"  
  
It turned out that Draco and Destiny had a lot in common. They talked all class period and by the time the bell rang, they had become friends.  
  
Smiling as she got her stuff together to leave, she said, "Would you want to be my partner again, next time?"  
  
"Yes," he said with a smile, "I'd like that."  
  
*****  
  
As Harry walked to Potions class with his two best friends, he couldn't help but feel guilty. "We should have waited for her. She's bound to get lost."  
  
"If we had stayed," Hermione replied reasonably, "We'd all be serving a detention. At least with Destiny, since she's new, she can get away with it- hopefully."  
  
"She won't get away with being late," Ron said sourly. "Not in Snape's class. And she doesn't know how Snape is, so she might try to argue when he gives her a detention."  
  
"What a way to start the year. Detention and guaranteed point loss."  
  
As soon as the bell rang, Snape began lecturing on how difficult it was to make this particular floating potion and how he expected they were all too stupid to make it correctly. Hermione was on the edge of her seat, she was so eager to prove she could do it.  
  
Just then there was a knock on the door and in walked Destiny.  
  
"Sorry I'm late, Professor Snape. Professor Lupin asked to see me after class."  
  
Harry cringed as soon as he heard what she had said. 'Oh, man. Of all the things to say!' He watched as Snape slowly advanced on the petite girl. 'Dear Lord! She must have nerves of steel! She's not even flinching! I don't think she's afraid at all!' he thought amazed.  
  
As Snape started to insult Destiny, he watched the Slytherins. They obviously thought it was great to see the new girl- not to mention she was a Gryffindor- being embarrassed. They also seemed to be waiting to see if she would be like most girls and cry.  
  
Surprisingly, she seemed neither embarrassed nor ready to cry. She just turned her back to Snape and walked to the closest empty seat. right next to Draco Malfoy.  
  
Groaning silently, he thought, 'Oh, this can't get any worse.'  
  
How wrong he was.  
  
Just as Snape started to yell at Destiny, he suddenly tripped and fell. Without being able to stop himself, Harry burst out laughing. Thankfully the rest of the class was laughing too. Through his laughter, he heard Destiny say mockingly, "Oh, Sir! Are you alright?" He immediately shut-up when he heard that. 'Here it comes,' he thought.  
  
Sure enough, Snape gave her a detention, took fifty more points, and blamed his shoes being tied together on her.  
  
As Snape went back to insulting the entire class, he watched as Destiny turned and tried to befriend Malfoy.  
  
"Hey Ron." Harry nudged Ron to get his attention. "I think Destiny's actually seceding in making friends with Malfoy."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me." He quickly looked over at them and his mouth dropped open. "Holy. Is Malfoy SMILING? How did she do it? All he usually does is smirk and scowl!"  
  
Harry and Ron both shuddered as they watched Malfoy laugh at Destiny's joke.  
  
*****  
  
As Destiny walked out of the classroom, she looked around for Harry and company. Seeing them, she hurried over.  
  
Hola mono chicos!" she exclaimed.  
  
"What?" Hermione asked with amusement.  
  
Smiling happily, she said, "I said hello monkey people. I think. Oh, well. Close enough!"  
  
Suddenly, Ron burst out, "I can't believe you were fraternizing with the enemy!"  
  
"The enemy?" Destiny asked confused. "Huh?"  
  
"Malfoy! He's a Slytherin-"  
  
"Therefore I should hate him without a reason?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Ron, I want to be your friend. But if you're going to be trying to tell me who I can and can't hang out with, then you aren't worth my time. Draco is really sweet and if you would attempt to be nice to him, you could find that out."  
  
"I would NEVER be his friend. He has done nothing but insult my family, Harry and call Hermione a mudblood!"  
  
"Sticks and stones Ron. And anyway, I'm sure you've all returned the favor." Pausing for a second, she looked at them. "Come on guys! Let bygones be bygones!"  
  
Wanting to stop the argument, Harry said, "Tell you what. You be friends with anyone you want and we'll try to be civilized to them. How's that?"  
  
Sighing Destiny replied, "Good enough." Switching back to happy mode, she asked, "So what's next?"  
  
With a look of relief on his face, Harry said, "Divination."  
  
Groaning, Destiny whined, "What the heck! I swear, somebody up there has it in for me!"  
  
Laughing, Harry said, "Great! You can join our 'I hate Trelawney ' club."  
  
*****  
  
After lunch, Harry, Ron and Destiny headed to Divination. Destiny looked sadly after Hermione who had Arithmacy instead of Divination. 'Why, oh why couldn't he have taken anything but this!' she thought, depressed.  
  
When they got to the top of the tower, she looked around. "Um. guys? There's nothing here." Just then a trapdoor opened above them and a silver ladder slowly lowered itself down. "O.K. That was anticlimactic." Destiny mumbled.  
  
With a snort of laughter they started to climb the ladder. As they got to the top, she looked around. There was a bunch of little tables with chairs at them. The entire room was filled with thick incense smoke and it was all she could do to not start coughing. Just as they were sitting down, a misty voice came from the corner of the room.  
  
"I have been informed by the Fates that we have a new student joining us today."  
  
"The Fates?" Destiny whispered to Harry.  
  
"I am Professor Trelawney," the strange moth-like teacher explained to Destiny. "I will help you learn to use your inner eye while you're here. I have been burdened with the knowledge that you have not done well in your last Divination class," she informed them, sighing sadly.  
  
"Um. Okay," Destiny said with amusement.  
  
"Today I have been informed by the Fates that we will be reviewing tea leaves." At this, Harry groaned quietly. "Please get your cups and return to your seats. Oh and Mr. Longbottom? Please don't break more than your first cup today."  
  
At this, Destinys' face twisted in anger. Hurrying over to the cups, she grabbed two, before going over to Neville and handing one to him. Leaning close to him, she murmured, "Be careful with it. Let's show that ugly cow just how much of a fake she is!"  
  
Looking at her with surprise, he answered, "But she's seen that it will break. She's a Seer!"  
  
"No, trust me, she's not."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I can't really explain it but if you don't believe me, ask Harry. He'll tell you the same thing." With that, she turned and went back to her table with her cup. "Where'd Ron go?" she asked looking around.  
  
"He's going to work with Dean." Seeing her questioning face, he explained, "Well you had to work with a stranger in the last class, so we decided to have one of us work with you. So. tea leaves." After about five minutes of trying to read Destinys' furture from her cup, he exclaimed with exasperation, "Okay, this is stupid. There's nothing here!"  
  
Sighing, Destiny reached out and took Harrys' cup. "Okay, let's see what we have here. There's a swamp, which means grave danger; a cross, which means safety if you hold on to whatever you have; and a heart with wings, which means true love is within your grasp, but if you don't grab onto it, it'll get away." With that, she looked up and saw Harry, Ron and Dean- who had come to sit at their table- staring at her in shock. "What?" she asked irritated.  
  
"You can actually see things in the cups, can't you?" Harry asked amazed.  
  
Giving a quick look around she sighed and whispered, "Yes." Waving the three of them closer to her she whispered, "I'm a Seer. That's why I got so mad when Trelawney said that to Neville. That wasn't being a Seer; that was bullying an already self-conscious boy." Clenching her teeth, she added, "A real Seer would never announce to a room full of people that she- or he- could see the future. Only those who have, by chance, had a vision or made a prophecy, have ever announced it. Sometimes it's better not to know what will happen. I mean, if you know you're going to die, you'll never be truly happy again. You'll always be waiting for death to catch up with you."  
  
"But if you know that someone's going to die and you know when, wouldn't you try to stop it?" Dean asked curiously.  
  
"I'd like to think I'd be strong enough not to." Seeing their confused looks, she added, "Sometimes it takes more courage to let destiny take its course than to stop it."  
  
"It's wrong to let somebody die if you can stop it," Harry said quietly.  
  
"Everybody must die someday. Sometimes people just die sooner rather than later." With a more cheerful expression, she said, "Enough doom and gloom! Let me read your guys cups."  
  
Happy to be doing anything but discussing what they had been, Dean pushed his cup forward.  
  
"Hmm. Okay, I see a sun. That means happiness in the near future. There's a cloud though so something bad is going to happen to take the happiness away." Seeing his eyes grow wide with fear, she said, "There's no Grim in your cup. That means you're probably going to break-up with your girlfriend or break your leg or something."  
  
Obviously having heard Destiny mention the Grim, Trelawney gasped and quickly exclaimed loudly so the whole class could hear, "Oh my poor girl! You too have seen the Grim in Mr. Potter's cup!" Grabbing Dean's cup, she exclaimed, "Oh dear! Even now the Grim is becoming more clear!"  
  
"Umm. Ma'am? That's not Harry's cup." Destiny said. All around her, the boys were smirking. "And just so you know, there's nothing in there that even remotely resembles a Grim. Or for that matter, any type of animal."  
  
Very stiffly Trelawney said, "My dear, I'm afraid that you don't have much clairvoyant energy around you. I'm not surprised you did not see it."  
  
Destiny's mouth dropped open.  
  
"The nerve of that lady!" Lily exclaimed angrily. Without thinking, Destiny nodded.  
  
"Who are you nodding at?" Ron asked.  
  
"No one," Destiny said as she snapped back to attention.  
  
After Trelawney's insult, Destiny refused to take part in the conversation any more until Ron, near the end of class, asked the question that set off her anger.  
  
"Don't you want to see the future your cup tells?"  
  
"Are you nuts! No! Why do you think you switch cups?"  
  
"I never thought about it. So you won't just see all good things or all bad things?"  
  
"If I read your cup for you and I see the Grim, then I can pretend to have seen something else. Nobody should know when they are to die. That is why. If I read my own cup and saw that something bad was going to happen, then I would try to prevent it. If I tried to prevent it. then I might make it even worse and get others killed too. That is why nobody should ever look in their own cup!"  
  
During the silence that followed, the bell rang. Walking down the hall to their last class, Neville hurried up to Destiny.  
  
"Guess what?" Without waiting for an answer, he said, "You were right! She is a fraud! I made it through the entire class without breaking it!"  
  
"Good for you! You know, you shouldn't let people push you around like that."  
  
"I know."  
  
Seeing his enthusiasm of the topic, Destiny gave him pointers all the way to Care of Magical Creatures. By the time they reached the class, it was obvious that Neville had a huge crush of her. Hermione- who had met up with them in the Entrance Hall- was smiling knowingly at her.  
  
"I think he likes you!" she said laughing.  
  
"Shut it you," Destiny replied good-naturedly.  
  
"So how was Divination? Have you now lost all respect for our school?" Hermione asked.  
  
"No. The school is great, but I lost all respect the Divination class though the instant that over grown moth tried to be mysterious with the ladder. It was all down hill from there."  
  
Giggling, Hermione asked, "What happened?"  
  
Looking to Destiny for approval, Harry said, "Destiny's a Seer. She was reading our tea leaves and she was saying there wasn't a Grim in Dean's cup and Trelawney heard. She ended up saying Destiny wasn't a Seer and then Destiny started lecturing us on why certain things are the way they are."  
  
"I wasn't lecturing. I was trying to get you to think, " she said with a pout.  
  
As they arrived at Hagrids' hut, they called out a hello to him.  
  
"'Ello there!" Hagrid called to his three friends.  
  
"That's Hagrid," Harry said. "He teaches this class and he's also Game Keeper."  
  
When the Slytherins arrived a few moments later, Destiny raised her hand with a smile, and waved, calling out loudly, "Hi Draco!" She immediately dropped her hand when she saw the glares she was receiving from both the Slytherins and Gryffindors.  
  
The class went much as Destiny expected it to. The animals that they were studying kept freaking out if she got to close. She quickly backed away after their first panic so as not to draw attention to herself. She didn't want people asking why a Griffin- which was a ferocious, half lion, half eagle that had little competition on pure cruelty- kept panicking when she was around. Walking back to the common room after class, Destiny was, for the first time, thankful for her powers: the other seventh year Gryffindors, were all covered in dirt and scratches.  
  
"How did you manage to stay so clean?" Ron asked, examining her perfectly clean skirt and robes.  
  
Laughing, Destiny replied, "Well I was smart enough NOT to try and play with the psycho animal!"  
  
As they reached the common room, Harry said, "I have to go. I'm supposed to be meeting with Dumbledore."  
  
"Why?" Ron asked worriedly. "Did You-Know-Who do something else?"  
  
"Voldemort is always doing something but I don't know if that is what this is about." About twenty minutes after Harry had left, he returned, slightly out of breath. "Destiny, Dumbledore wants to talk to you about permanent year placing. You know, it would have saved me a lot of walking if I would have just brought you with me the first time." As Harry smiled at her, she couldn't force anything more than a weak, half-hearted grin in return. The next hour or so could determine whether or not Destiny was able to stop the reign of evil before it conquered them all.  
  
  
  
A/N: Thank you to shayomac, wouldn't you like to know (Great way to sign your name!), Wade, Loverofbooks (Thank you for the list!), Booger and Co. (Hahahaha! I loved your name!), and Denise for reviewing! You are all great! 


	5. Tests and Partial Truths

Disclaimer: I own Destiny and the plot. Anything you don't recognize is mine.  
  
  
  
Tests and Partial Truths  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
  
  
When she had reached the Headmasters office door, Destiny knocked.  
  
"Come in."  
  
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Inside sat the headmaster.  
  
"Ah, Miss Black, have a seat," he said waving to a nearby chair. She quickly sat down, eager to get it over with. "Now, you do realize how hard you will have to work to be able to remain in seventh year, don't you?"  
  
"Yes Sir. But with all do respect, I'm smarter than most students that will ever come to this school are. And those I'm not smarter than, I can beat by pure determination." Seeing his amused, twinkling eyes, she continued, "I'm willing to take every test you want me to take. I want to be in seventh year. I want to graduate at the end of this year."  
  
After a moments pause, the Headmaster nodded. "Very well, but you must take an exam in all of your classes. Follow me."  
  
Hopping out of her chair, she asked, "What, now?"  
  
"No time like the present. Besides, I'm sure you're eager to have this over with and if you don't pass the tests, I'd like to have you in your new classes by tomorrow."  
  
While trotting to keep up with his long strides, she smiled. 'Yes! I know I can do this! Part one is almost complete!'  
  
When Professor Dumbledore suddenly turned into a classroom, Destiny tried to stop so quickly that she tripped and fell into a suit of armor. Quickly jumping up, she ran into the classroom smiling sheepishly at the amused looks she was receiving.  
  
"Miss Black-"  
  
"You can call me Destiny, Sir. Actually, I'd prefer if you did. I feel like I'm in trouble when you say Miss Black."  
  
"Of course, Destiny. Now, as I was saying, this is Professor McGonagall. She is our Transfiguration teacher. To make the exam last as short as possible a time, she will ask all questions aloud."  
  
And so it started.  
  
She asked questions that would have been on the written exam. They then started on the practical exam. She turned desks to brooms and quills to cats. As she went through the exams, the Professor's eyes widened in shock. In a quiet voice, Professor McGonagall whispered, "Turn the cat into a phoenix."  
  
As soon as she heard her say that, warning bells began to go off.  
  
'That isn't something they'd ask a student to do! That's what they ask a Mage to do when they graduate from a Mage school!'  
  
Taking a deep breath- and hoping they'd believe that she had actually tried- she raised her wand and changed the cat into an owl. Feigning panic, she exclaimed, "That's not going to stop me is it? I mean, I got all the other ones right!"  
  
Giving her an exasperated look, Professor McGonagall replied, "You passed my test with a 120%. You have the ability to skip your seventh year Transfiguration also." Turning to the Headmaster, she asked, "Albus, would it be possible to have her do some advanced placement work? She would, of course, do the seventh year work also, but I would like to teach her something a little more advanced too. It would be a wonderful learning experience."  
  
Destiny groaned to herself. 'Should of messed up earlier. Now I've made more work for myself,' she thought grumpily.  
  
"Of course you may, Minerva. But don't load her down to much. While she may excel in one area, she may struggle in another. such as potions," he said with a small smile.  
  
As they left the Transfiguration room and headed towards the next classroom, she asked curiously, "So I take it you heard about my run-in with Professor Snape?"  
  
Smiling, Dumbledore replied, "Yes, I heard, as well as the rest of the school. When a Professor is embarrassed, the news travels quite fast." Seeing her apprehensive face, he continued: " Not to worry! It couldn't have been you, do to the fact that your wand was still in your pocket!"  
  
Destiny was more than a little relieved to finally reach the next classroom. She tried not to giggle when she saw the short, happy wizard.  
  
"Well! This is exciting! A student eager to learn!"  
  
Within the next twenty minutes, Destiny had completed everything that was thrown at her.  
  
"Marvelous! You will have no trouble in my class this year! 120%! You scored even higher than Miss Granger!"  
  
Laughing, Destiny replied, "Oh, Hermione's going to hate me now!"  
  
As night began to fall and the exams continued, Destiny grew secure in the knowledge that she had nothing to worry about. She would most definitely be in seventh year.  
  
The only class she had any problems with was potions. Even though she answered all the questions correctly, he only gave her a 90%. Though after that mornings escapade, she was happy to even have that. In Care of Magical Creatures though, she had had to cheat by using her powers to frighten the creature into submission. In Divination, she had to read a crystal ball and had been able to bluff her way through the exam without having to use her powers as a Seer. She had ended up with a low A. Trelawney had obviously not gotten over being told she was wrong.  
  
Then came her final exam.  
  
She had been looking forwards to this exam the most. She wanted to prove that she- while petite and feminine- could still fight off any evil creature thrown at her.  
  
"Hi Professor Lupin!" she said happily as she bounced into the room.  
  
"Hello Destiny. How have your other exams gone?"  
  
"Passed them all with flying colors! Even Snape had no choice but to give me a 90!"  
  
Smiling at her enthusiasm, he couldn't help but think of how much like Sirius she was. 'Dear Lord! She's just a girly version of how Sirius was as a teenager!'  
  
"Well! It is late, so let's finish this so you can go back to your friends," Professor Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I have no doubts that you will pass."  
  
"I'm not sure what you've covered in practical lessons so I'm just going to let you have a go at some random creatures that I've collected for my classes to study. I've already seen your knowledge in the book department, so we'll skip those questions," Professor Lupin said. "To start, I'd like to see how well you can produce a patronus."  
  
At this, Destiny froze. "A patronus?" she squeaked. Seeing Lupins' nod, she stuttered, "Th. that's. very advanced."  
  
"Don't worry. I just want to see if you can do it. No loss if you can't. If you can though, you'll already be half way done with your exam."  
  
'Oh, crap! This isn't happening!' she thought frantically.  
  
She knew there was a very good chance that James or Lily Potter would come out of her wand. They were, after all, the two spirits who had taught her to be who she was today. They had protected her from being beaten up when she was little and kids hated her because of who her father was. They had taught her that if people refused to be her friend because she had been classified as "Not Human", then they weren't worth her time. They had taught her that no one was worth her tears.  
  
Taking a deep breath to calm her panicking mind, she raised her wand and pointed it at the center of the room. Thinking of the worst experience of her life-and hoping that the spell would be a flop-, she exclaimed, "Expecto Patronum!"  
  
Out of her wand came the shape of a person. When she saw it, she gave a smile. Others would assume it was only a weak Patronus but Destiny knew better. It was a ghost. She knew that even if she had cast the spell correctly, the ghost would still be indistinct. It represented to her, another world that nobody could harm.  
  
Smiling, she turned to look at the two adults. She couldn't help but nearly burst out laughing when she saw the disappointment on their faces: they had expected something grand.  
  
Giving her a reassuring smile, Professor Lupin announced with forced cheerfulness, "Not to worry! That was very good. Most people can only form an indistinct patronus. All right! Next, a boggart! This is a bit easy but I think if a person can conquer their fears, no matter their age, they have extraordinary talent."  
  
'Oh this'll be easy!' Destiny thought happily.  
  
As Lupin opened the crate for her, she lifted her wand. The boggart immediately turned into a grave.  
  
She looked over at Lupin who nodded encouragingly. "Go on," he said. "Fight the boggart!"  
  
Just then, the grave burst open and out climbed a rotting zombie. It started towards her slowly, making a growling noise.  
  
"Ew!" Destiny cried putting a hand over her nose. "Deodorant much?"  
  
"Destiny, FOCUS!" Lupin cried, exasperated.  
  
Smiling lazily at the zombie that was now less than five feet away, Destiny raised her wand. Mumbled the incantation almost indistinctly, she gave her wand a half-hearted wave. "Riddikulus." A giant fan appeared and blew it backwards so that it stumbled and fell back into its grave. "Ha ha!" Destiny smirked. "Loser!"  
  
After the boggart was forced back into the crate, they continued. Nearly an hour later, they finished.  
  
"Very well done! 110%!" Professor Lupin said happily.  
  
"Congratulations, Miss Black. Welcome to your seventh year!"  
  
Smiling at her luck, she couldn't help but almost skip back to the common room.  
  
"Oh, Des! I'm so proud of you!" Lily said bouncing around her enthusiastically.  
  
Laughing Destiny exclaimed, "You're making me sick! Hold still!" Saying the password (chiperknicker!), she climbed into the common room.  
  
"There you are!" Hermione exclaimed. "Where were you?"  
  
"I had to talk to Dumbledore."  
  
"For three HOURS!" Ron exclaimed.  
  
With a smile she answered, "I had to go from class to class and prove that I was smart enough to stay in seventh year. I passed all but potions and Divination with higher than a 100%. Those two Professors hate me after today."  
  
After smiling at her comment, Harry's smile faded slightly.  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
*****  
  
"We need to talk," Harry said.  
  
"About?" Destiny asked apprehensively.  
  
Hesitantly Harry asked, "Who's your father?" Seeing how she suddenly tensed, he knew he was onto something. "Is it-"  
  
"Not here," she hissed. "Do you have somewhere we can talk privately?"  
  
Harry quickly got up and waved for them to come with him. They hurried down the hallways and out of the castle with only one close call with Peeves. When they reached the edge of the forest, Harry pushed the knot on the Whomping Willow and they entered the passageway. As they walked, Harry noticed that Destiny had never once asked where they were going. In fact, she seemed to be listening to a voice- or a world- that nobody but she could hear. When they finally reached the Shrieking Shack and had entered, he turned to face her.  
  
"Well?"  
  
He was a little shocked to see the sad look that passed over her face. The entire time he'd known her- even though it had only been a short time-, she had always had a smile on her face. Even when she had faced Snape, she had had a smile to give. True, she had gotten angry in Divination but she had still been smiling after she had said her piece. The worst thing was that the sad look looked more at home on her face. As if, only recently, she had learned how to smile. As if loneliness and sadness had always been a part of her.  
  
"What do you want to know? Where should I start?"  
  
"How about the beginning?" Hermione suggested gently.  
  
"I'm not positive I know the entire story but I'll tell you what I can. My name is Destiny Black. I was born March 30, 1982 to Julia Snow. I grew up in US but we never ended up staying in the same place- we were constantly moving. I think I was about three when I finally asked why I had no 'Daddy' like all the other kids. My mother told me that my father was Sirius Black," she paused there when she saw Ron's eyes get huge.  
  
"You're Sirius' daughter? Why hasn't he ever mentioned you before?" Ron asked stunned.  
  
"Getting there. My mother hated me. She made it very clear. She never tried to physically hurt me but sometimes words are worse. She told me that I was a monster because I was his daughter, that I was evil. I never believed her. I always knew my father was innocent. I used to think that one day he would escape from prison and come to get me. That he would protect me. I think I was six when I finally consciously realized that he wasn't going to come for me. Turns out, he never even knew I existed. He still doesn't. He escaped from Azkaban when I was eleven. I heard that he was going to Hogwarts; that he was after the Potter's son, so I decided then that I would get to Hogwarts no matter how hard it was. Took me five years but hear I am! I had every intention of getting you to tell me where he was by befriending you." At this she laughed. "Luckily for me, I ran straight smack into you in the bookstore! I didn't even realize it was you I was supposed to be trying to befriend until I walked away." Grinning at her incompetence, she shook her head and gave a small chuckle. Looking back up at them with a hopeful expression, she continued. "Now I'm hoping for more than the chance to meet my father; I'm hoping for real friends."  
  
Needless to say, after Destiny's monologue, Harry was shocked.  
  
'So that's why he never mentioned her. He doesn't know! Well, we'll have to fix that,' he thought with determination.  
  
"We can introduce you to him!" Ron said excitedly. "We can-"  
  
"Ron!" Hermione snapped. "Hush!" At that, Ron immediately shut his mouth. "You're not telling us something. Something big."  
  
"'Mione, she's aloud to have her secrets! I'm sure you have some of your own," Harry replied, annoyed on Destiny's behalf.  
  
Still, Hermione kept giving Destiny a searching look. Seeing how uncomfortable she looked under Hermione's stare, Harry said loudly, "Well, It's late. We should be getting back." Just then, Destiny's stomach announced itself by growling loudly. "Or, you two can go back while Destiny and I go raid the kitchens!" They all laughed and made their way back up to the castle in silence. As they reached the Entrance Hall, Harry and Destiny went in one direction and Ron and Hermione in the other.  
  
As they walked down the hall, Harry was surprised by Destiny's sudden question. "What is he like?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"My father. I have a friend that remembers him but. you know. Good memories are always better when they're over."  
  
"He's nice. I hope he's freed soon. I'm going to get to live with him, you know." Seeing her wistful smile, he added, "I guess we'll be related then."  
  
"Yeah. That'll be nice. I've always wanted a brother."  
  
With a pang, he realized then that he didn't want to be her brother. He didn't want her to just see him as a friend.  
  
'This is crazy!' he thought furiously. 'I've known her for barley forty- eight hours! And worse, she's Sirius' daughter. AND she's only fifteen!'  
  
Quickly turning his thoughts away from that line of thinking, he asked slowly, "So. Hermione said you were hiding something. Care to share?"  
  
With a giggle, she gave him a little punch in the shoulder. "Trying to get ahold of my naughty secrets?"  
  
"Oh! Naughty secrets, I'm intrigued."  
  
As they climbed into the kitchen, they were both laughing.  
  
"Harry Potter, Sir!" came a squeal and a little body threw itself at him. "Harry Potter, Sir! You came to see Dobby?"  
  
"Dobby! Get off!" Harry cried, trying to detach the house elf from him. When the elf finally let go, he said, "Dobby, this is Destiny. She missed dinner; could she have something to eat?"  
  
Within seconds of asking the question, a dozen house elves had piled a heap of food into his arms.  
  
"Um. Thanks?"  
  
As they hurried out of the kitchen, Dobby called, "Goodbye Sir!"  
  
"Well that was entertaining. I do believe you have a fan Harry Potter, Sir!" Destiny said with a giggle.  
  
"Oh, sod off."  
  
Smiling evilly, she said, "You know, I've heard lots of girls talking about you. Maybe we should start a fan club! Yeah, that's it! I can steal your underwear too and sell it to the fan club for money!"  
  
"Dear Lord, NO!"  
  
As they continued their banter down the hall, he couldn't help but feel that, for the first time in his life, he had found someone he could truly talk to. That his happiness had found a home within someone else.  
  
  
  
A/N: Thank you to Sailor Hylia (Snuffles rocks!), Denise (I totally agree about Draco!), Snoopy, and LoverofBooks (Thanks for the suggestion! If you have anymore, feel free to tell me!) 


	6. Losing and Gaining

Disclaimer: I own Destiny and anything else you don't recognize.  
  
  
  
  
  
Losing and Gaining  
  
Chapter 6  
  
  
  
As the weeks passed, Harry found himself spending more and more time with Destiny. Unfortunately, he also found himself spending less time with Ron and Hermione. Ron of course didn't mind much. He saw it as the perfect opportunity to get Hermione to notice him as a guy. Hermione though was a different story. While she was still nice to Ron and Harry, she made it very clear that she couldn't stand Destiny. Destiny, of course, didn't seem to mind at all. She had made dozens of friends outside of the Gryffindor house. Surprisingly enough, she had made most of her friends out of older students. It was rare, if ever, she was seen with anyone her own age.  
  
The only bizarre thing was that, although it was impossible not to like her, she preferred to be alone. The only time she ever really opened up, was around Harry. Harry, of course, wanted to owl Sirius and let him know about his daughter. Destiny quickly protested to this saying that she wanted to meet him before she committed to anything. After all, if she didn't like him, there was no point in putting them both through the hell that it would take for them to get to know each other. Harry agreed, not wanting to see either of them suffer unnecessarily. He didn't however let the matter rest. He decided that, as soon as possible, he was going to take Destiny to meet her father.  
  
"Hey, Des!" Harry called as he ran to catch up with her. "I've got it!"  
  
"Oh, Harry, you poor thing!" she exclaimed in mock horror. "I've heard the rash is really bad and when it starts oozing-"  
  
"Ew! What are you talking about?"  
  
"I dunno! I'm just randomly letting words flow!"  
  
"I don't even want to know. Anyway-"  
  
"It's anyhoo!"  
  
"I'm trying to tell you something important!" Satisfied that she was through interrupting, he continued. "There's going to be a meeting of the Or- well anyways, Sirius is going to be here and I always visit with him when he comes. I can bring you to meet him!"  
  
"We'd have to make sure Lupin isn't going to say anything."  
  
"I'll take care of it."  
  
"Okay, then. When's this meeting?"  
  
"You're not supposed to know about that!"  
  
"Get over it. So I know, big deal! Well?"  
  
"The day after Halloween."  
  
"Alrighty then! Looking forward to it. What should I wear!"  
  
Groaning, Harry turned and walked away, shaking his head in amusement.  
  
"I'm serious!" she shouted after him.  
  
*****  
  
The day of Halloween dawned rainy and dark. In the seventh year girls dorm though, it couldn't have gotten darker.  
  
Since Hermione had begun to give Destiny the silent treatment on the second day of school, things had become increasingly difficult for the Necromancer in her dorm room. While Hermione usually just flat out ignored her, Parvati and Lavender didn't seem inclined to do so. Destiny had started to make sure that there was always a spirit friend around to fight for her, or- if things ever got out of hand- to go get Professor Lupin, who was the only teacher that wouldn't ask questions when the messenger randomly vanished.  
  
Even worse was the fact that she constantly had to use advanced protection spells to protect her things. Every night when she went to bed, James or Lily- two of her most trusted ghosts- would stand guard over her so they could wake her if anybody tried to do anything to her.  
  
The first time she had started posting her friends as guards was after Parvati had dumped pink hair dying potion on her head as they were getting ready for bed. After that, it had become a full-blown prank war. She had started using muggle tricks- stepping on the back of the girls skirts, causing them to be ripped off, saran rapping the toilets so that the pee would have no where to escape but down their legs- to get revenge. The best part was, no matter how hard they tried, they could never seem to get her- of course it helped to have invisible lookouts. The problem was, it was becoming difficult to keep her mind on anything but Harry, and everyone knows that the first rule of pranking is to be alert and not get distracted in a way that would allow someone to pull one over on you.  
  
'Am I falling for him? I can't be! He's my only true friend and I don't want to lose that because my hormones finally decided to kick in!' she thought as she brushed her long black curls furiously. 'Okay, take a deep breath and calm down,' she told herself, jumping out of the way as Lavender threw a shoe at her.  
  
Scowling at her immature roommate, Destiny quickly grabbed her book bag and broom, running out the door before she was forced to retaliate.  
  
She had decided to get up early that morning to fly around before she had to go meet the Potter's and go to breakfast. Flying always helped calm her nerves and today she was going to need it. Halloween- according to Destiny- was the worst holiday ever. On Halloween, because it was the night when the veil between the world of the living and the dead was thinnest, her powers had a tendency to be. excessive. It was the best time to use Necromancy though, for it was also the time when her powers were at their strongest. On the Night of the Dead, she was with out a doubt, the most powerful creature in existence. She became nearly invincible.  
  
'Oh, please don't let me accidentally make anything dead, visible. Or worse! Something living, invisible!' she thought as she climbed onto her Nimbus 2000.  
  
Destiny was immediately drenched as she flew out the door. She flew down to the Quidditch pitch and did a few laps before landing and running to the forest where she was to meet the Potter's.  
  
"Hey!" she called when she saw them.  
  
Glancing upwards, James cocked his head and said, "You know, I think the sky is puking."  
  
"Ew!"  
  
With a sad look, Lily said, "No, the Angels are crying. And soon, the rest of the world will join."  
  
Nobody spoke as the rain soaked Destiny to the bone. There was nothing to say. They all knew that when the morning Post Owls arrived, some poor kid was going to find out what it meant to be touched by death. With a sad sigh, she thought, 'Nobody should know the feel of Deaths touch. Especially not a child.'  
  
With a feeling of determination, Destiny said shortly, "All the more reason why we need to act now. Now is the time to start fighting back! I'm at my most powerful today, let's go get rid of the sorry bastard!"  
  
"No," James said firmly. "You attack him alone, you've signed your own death warrant. Only with Harry by your side will you be victorious. Another reason is, Harry isn't ready. You may want to try to be recruited by the Order of the Phoenix. They can be a major help and-"  
  
"They won't let me into their little club. They'll know what I am and will deny me entrance."  
  
"Which is the point. Trust me."  
  
Suddenly, Destiny realized what James was getting at. Her eyes widened as she said, "Oh! . You know I feel bad tricking Harry like this."  
  
At this, Lily giggled, "Someone's in love!"  
  
"I am NOT!"  
  
"Then why else would you care so much?"  
  
"Okay, maybe I like him a little, but- HEY! Mind your own business! Changing the subject now. What's up with Hermione?"  
  
Snickering loudly, James said, "That's not exactly changing the subject."  
  
Elbowing him into silence, Lily explained, "Hermione's jealous of Harry spending so much time with you. When you weren't here, she still had a chance, but now she knows that it's just a matter of time until he falls in love with you too."  
  
"Harry doesn't love me. Besides all the guys here see me as a friend- well for the moment they do-, not as a girl."  
  
With an exasperated gesture, Lily said, "Open your eyes! Guys are drooling over you!"  
  
"Why?" Destiny asked meekly.  
  
"If you can't figure it out, I'm not telling you." After a moments silence, Lily continued. "Go eat breakfast. If you stay out here, you'll catch your death."  
  
With a confused look, Destiny bent down to pick up her battered old broom. Without bothering to turn around to see them, she said, "I'm going to meet my father tomorrow. What should I say?"  
  
In a quiet voice, James answered, "I think it's time you started making your own choices. Nobody can live your life for you and that is precisely what Lily and I have been doing. We've talked it over and we've decided that the best thing we can do for you is leave and let you make these decisions on your own. Don't come here to meet us again, we won't be waiting."  
  
Closing her eyes in silent pain, Destiny asked, "Where are you going?"  
  
"Away. We'll come back when you are ready to lead the army you were born to command."  
  
"You don't have to leave! I can-" She stopped when she turned and realized that she was alone. Blinking back tears, she headed to the castle.  
  
'I'll show them!' she thought angrily. 'I'll show them I'm not acting like a kid!' she stopped walking as soon as the thought crossed her mind. 'Okay, maybe I am. Well, we'll just have to fix that. First things first, I need to let Dumbledore and Harry know what I am and that I'm on their side. Next I need to let my father know I exist. Lastly, I need to start training again. I shouldn't have let being treated normally go to my head and the best way to deal with that problem is to go back to being how I was before I started trying to be like everyone else.'  
  
Feeling more confident than she had since before coming to Hogwarts; she walked into the Great Hall. She was amazed at how wonderful she felt now that she no longer needed to worry about what other people thought. 'Has it really only been two months since this hell began?'  
  
As she walked to the open seat by the "Dream Team", she was aware of people waving at her. She didn't even bother to acknowledge them or to try and paste on a fake smile. She slid into a chair and began to concentrate on her food.  
  
"Wow. You look like crap," Harry stated. When she didn't bother to answer him, he waved a hand in front of her face and called, "Hello! Earth to Destiny!" As she slapped his hand away, she felt a pang of regret run through her. Harry didn't deserve to be treated like this. He had been nothing but nice from the start.  
  
'No!' she told herself. 'I'm sick of pretending to be something I'm not.' Looking at him though, she felt her mind become even clearer. 'But, perhaps, with Harry, it's not pretend. It's almost like wanting to be with Lily and James except more so. Oh, Lord, NO! They were right. How can I be falling in love with Harry Potter?'  
  
*****  
  
Harry was getting a little worried. Ron, Hermione and him had looked all over for Destiny before heading down to breakfast.  
  
"Where do you think she went?" Ron asked, just as worried.  
  
"She left just after I got up," Hermione stated carelessly.  
  
"What if You- Know- Who attacked her!"  
  
"Oh, come on Ron! What's the chances of that happening?"  
  
Harry sighed as he listened to his friends bickering. "Let's go eat guys. She'll turn up and if she doesn't, we'll see her in class."  
  
When breakfast was halfway over, Destiny did indeed show up. When he saw her, his mouth dropped open.  
  
She had worn her hair down for the first time instead of putting it up in some elegant up-do. Usually, she was always perfectly groomed, with perfect hair, make-up and clothes. Today though her hair- along with the rest of her body- was soaked, plastered, and matted in curly ringlets. What startled him the most was her expression. She wore a hardened glare and her eyes were like topaz ice chips. Her mascara had run down her face, giving the impression of war paint. Usually very bouncy, he was surprised when she totally ignored the little fan club that had started to fawn over her and sat down next to him without a word or glance.  
  
Trying to lighten her mood, he told her how bad she looked- the guaranteed way to get her attention. She didn't respond in the slightest. When he tried to get her attention again, he was shocked once more when she smacked him away.  
  
Apparently so were Ron and Hermione.  
  
"What is your problem?" Hermione demanded in a nasty voice. She immediately backed down though when Destiny turned and stared at her with cool commanding eyes.  
  
Harry, not wanting to make Destiny's mood any worse just smiled and said, "Everyone's entitled to having a bad day. So. Quidditch try-outs. You game?" he asked, nudging her to get her attention.  
  
He could tell she was trying not to smile, as she said, "No pun intended?"  
  
"Of course not. So what do you say? Beater, Chaser."  
  
"Sure. When's try-outs?"  
  
"Tomorrow. It's going to freezing if it doesn't stop raining though."  
  
"Cool," Destiny commented absentmindedly.  
  
"Well, let's go to class," Hermione said.  
  
"Hermione, can I talk to you for a sec? Alone?" Destiny asked. Turning to face the others, she said, "We'll see you in class." Grabbing Hermione arm, she drug her into an open classroom.  
  
"Well?" Hermione asked annoyed.  
  
"I know why you hate me."  
  
Startled, Hermione said, "I don't hate you."  
  
"Yes you do. You hate me because Harry had been spending all of his time with me. You hate that you might have competition for Harry's affections. Well, you need to know that, yes; I do like Harry as more than a friend, but. BUT, I would rather be his friend than risk putting a rift between you two. Is there anyway we can make a deal of no hard feelings towards whoever he ends up liking?  
  
"No. I've known him for years and no matter how hard I try, he never sees me as anything but a guy friend who knows about girl things. But you. You just show up one day and within seconds, he's head over heel in love with you."  
  
"He doesn't love me. He's a teenage guy. They doesn't know what love is."  
  
"Well HE does. You'd have to be blind not to see it."  
  
"He doesn't even know me, not really. If he did. well, there's no difference between one person and the next. They're all the same. All prejudice," Destiny said, showing emotion for the first time that day.  
  
"I knew you were hiding something. You always change the topic though. What is it you're so afraid to let others know?" Hermione asked, feeling concerned despite herself.  
  
"Ask me that again tomorrow. You'll get to hear an insane story if you do." Taking a deep breath, she changed the subject back to what they had been previously discussing. "Do you still hate me?"  
  
"No, it's not your fault. Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I let a guy get in the way? But if you hurt him, I'll make you cry!"  
  
With a snort, she grabbed Hermione's wrist and drug her off to class. They hurried in and came up short.  
  
"Oh, no!" Hermione said.  
  
"Are we late?" Destiny asked carelessly.  
  
"Yes Black, Granger, you are," Professor McGonagall said as she advanced on the two girls.  
  
"Oh good! I thought something serious had happened!" Destiny exclaimed before bouncing to an empty seat.  
  
"Twenty points from Gryffindor! EACH!"  
  
As the day progressed, people were continually shocked by Destiny's attitude. She had always been really nice but now she snapped at people when she was angry, refused to apologize, and didn't seem to care what anyone thought.  
  
The only person her behavior didn't change around was Harry. She would still laugh and joke and was willing to look like an idiot with him.  
  
'What's going on?' Harry wondered to himself. 'Maybe she's just worried about Sirius.'  
  
But Harry couldn't help feeling that something was coming. Something big that could destroy the world as he saw it. It was coming and would reach them soon.  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to Shayomac, Vctoria, Darkhaven, Redblaze (You rock!), Erin Finnlaith, JennyT (This chapter should have explained your question!), CPSmily, Xaiver, and S.L (I love your stories they're so great! I've read them all!) for reviewing. 


	7. Meeting Panic

Disclaimer: I own Destiny and the plot. JK Rowlings owns everything else. Some lines come from movies or other books.  
  
  
  
Meeting Panic  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 7  
  
  
  
The next day, Destiny was running around the room in a panic.  
  
"Where did my shoes go?" she shrieked, sticking her head under her bed frantically.  
  
"Where did you last see them?" Lavender asked, desperate to shut her up.  
  
"If I knew, I wouldn't be looking for them!"  
  
"Have you ever noticed that everything's always in the last place you look?" Parvati asked.  
  
"Of course they are!" Destiny snapped. "Why would you keep looking after you found it?"  
  
Finding the shoes, Destiny stuffed them on her feet and headed for the mirror. Staring at herself, she decided she looked presentable. She had left her hair down in curly ringlets and had only put on a touch of make- up. Wearing her favorite black pants, red spaghetti strapped shirt and black ankle boots, she knew she looked stunning. She had wanted to look her best when she met her father for the first time and now she most assuredly would.  
  
Giving the okay, Hermione and Destiny hurried out of the room and down to the common room where the guys were waiting impatiently.  
  
"So, when do we go to meet him?" Destiny asked nervously.  
  
"We're going to meet him in Professor Lupin's office a little after breakfast," Harry said.  
  
"I thought we were going later this afternoon!"  
  
"Relax. He's going to meet us sooner. How do you want to do this?"  
  
Taking a deep breath, she said, "I want to talk to him for a bit and I'll let you guys talk before we tell him. I'll nod to you when I'm ready. How much time do we have to hang out with him?"  
  
"Until noon, so that's. three hours."  
  
"Okay, let's go."  
  
They ate breakfast and walked around a bit too waste time until they could go see him. They were heading towards Lupin's office when Destiny suddenly stopped.  
  
"What?" Harry asked.  
  
Shaking her head, she looked around.  
  
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Something's coming. Something big." Trying to shake off the feeling- and praying it wasn't a premonition, she said, "Oh well. What's coming, will come. We'll meet it when it does." Seeing Harry's surprised look, she said, "What?"  
  
"Nothing. Deja vu." Giving her a reassuring smile, Harry knocked on the door to Lupin's office.  
  
'Here we go again,' Destiny thought.  
  
"Hello Harry, Ron, Hermione. Destiny." Giving them a questioning look about her presence, he opened the door.  
  
"Sirius!" Harry said happily, running over and hugging him.  
  
"Harry! How are you?" Sirius Black answered hugging him back.  
  
Looking at him, she was surprised by how much she looked like him. They both had the same blue- black hair that looked perfect no matter how it was fixed- except, of course, when it was wet or matted-, large blue eyes- though his were a darker shade-, long lashes, and a lithe body.  
  
'To bad I got the short gene. He's like 6'2"!'  
  
"I'm good," Harry said in response to Sirius' question. "Sirius, I want you to meet a new friend of mine." As he waved Destiny over, he said, "This is Destiny. She's from America."  
  
Smiling, Sirius stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you!"  
  
Feeling a bit awed at the sight of this man who'd always been a hero to her; she timidly shook his hand.  
  
Giving her a curious look, and obviously wondering why Harry would have told a girl he'd just met such an important thing, he asked him carefully, "Did you tell her everything?"  
  
"Yeah, almost everything."  
  
As they continued talking, she felt an oppressive sadness overtaking her once more. Sadness over so much lost time.  
  
'I could have had a wonderful childhood. This is a person who would have protected me from all that hate. We've all lost so much.' Determined to lose no more time now that it could be helped, she poked Harry and nodded.  
  
With a startled look, Harry exclaimed, "Now?" Seeing her nod again, he said, "You sure picked the weirdest time."  
  
"No, I'm just through wasting it. You have no idea how precious time is until it's gone."  
  
Nodding, Harry sighed. "Alright." Turning to Sirius, he said, "Destiny has something important to tell you. Please just listen and try to believe her."  
  
"Okay, what do you need to tell me?" Sirius asked curiously.  
  
"Do you remember Julia Snow?"  
  
Looking at his feet, he muttered, "Yes. She was my fiancée."  
  
"She's my mother."  
  
Seeing the hurt and surprise on his face, she opened her mouth to continue but he interrupted her. "Well, your father is a very lucky man."  
  
While bouncing on the balls of her feet, she smiled and exclaimed, "I'm your daughter!"  
  
Sirius' eyes widened, and for a second she was afraid they'd pop out. His mouth opened and closed like a fish as he gasped for air.  
  
'He's going to pass out. or blow chunks! Ew! I better move!'  
  
Before she could move though, her father's eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed onto the floor.  
  
After a minute of shocked silence, Destiny turned to the others and said with a laugh, "I think he took it rather well!" She just smiled serenely when she heard Remus snort. "So, did anyone else think for a minute there he was going to puke?"  
  
Looking up from where he was kneeling on the floor next to Sirius, Remus Lupin shook his head disbelievingly, "I can't believe you broke it to him like that!"  
  
Destiny just shrugged. "I was nervous. I figured it was best to just say it before I lost my nerve." Pulling out her wand, she pointed it at her father and muttered, "Enervate!"  
  
As Sirius opened his eyes, she smiled. "That was a really impressive reaction. Your eyes turned completely white before you fell over!"  
  
Groaning, Sirius sat up and put a hand to his head. When he realized that she was still there and not part of his imagination, his eyes widened again.  
  
"Did I hear you right the first time?" he asked dumbly, obviously still in shock.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh. Um. Remus?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Is she telling the truth? . Please tell me she isn't."  
  
Giving him a disapproving look, he turned to Destiny.  
  
"He didn't mean that. He's just being-"  
  
"A turd?" Destiny asked suddenly somber. "He does have the right to not want me to be a part of his life."  
  
"Remus! You're supposed to be on my side! You're my friend, not hers!" Sirius said, completely ignoring her.  
  
"Oh, grow up! You're not the one who needs the support! Or the one who needs a father! Destiny does though!" Changing tracks, Remus pursued a different line of thinking. "Just look at her. She's an exact duplicate of you! She has the same personality and every thing! All she's asking is for you to take the chance to get to know her. Please! She's a really sweet girl- just give her the chance to prove it!"  
  
Nobody moved after Remus' speech. It was very rare that Remus Lupin ever got angry and rarer still that he was angry enough to yell.  
  
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Destiny burst out laughing. Shocked, everyone turned to see her leaning on the back of a chair, holding on to her stomach. Seeing their confused faces, she gasped out, "Oh! That was so great! Spit flew out of your mouth and your vein looked like it was about to pop! I just-" At that moment the chair flipped over and Destiny went sprawling on the floor. This only made her laugh even harder. She finally managed to gasp, "I gotta pee!" After a few minutes of relative silence, she managed to calm herself down.  
  
"You know," Sirius said, amused by the strangeness that was Destiny- and how she was indeed just like his teenage self, "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Why don't we start over?"  
  
"Because if I laugh that hard again, I'm going to need a new pair of pants," she replied with a giggle.  
  
"Be serious for a second-"  
  
"No you're Sirius! I'm Destiny!"  
  
Groaning, Remus cried, "That is so old!"  
  
"Yes, but it will forever be a classic!" Sirius crowed with delight.  
  
Just then, Harry's watch went off signaling that they had to get to their "secret meeting".  
  
"We have to be going. Tell you what; why don't I meet you here in two hours and we can try to get to know each other a little? Hey! I can teach you bad things to do to the teachers!" Sirius said with an excited grin.  
  
"Cool! See you then!" Destiny said with an enthusiastic smile.  
  
As Destiny bounced out the door with Hermione and Ron, she couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.  
  
Everything was going according to plan. Soon she would be able to do anything she wanted with her life and there would be no more prophesy to stop her. Only about a million more tasks to go.  
  
*****  
  
As Remus, Sirius- as Padfoot- and Harry walked to the secret room where the Order of the Phoenix meeting would be held, Harry smiled. The Destiny- Sirius introduction hadn't gone exactly as planned- Okay truth be told, it hadn't gone the way it was supposed to at all- but Harry was still happy that they had agreed to get to know each other.  
  
Harry's thoughts were interrupted when Sirius suddenly popped back into his human form and asked, "How long have you two known about her? And why didn't you tell me sooner?"  
  
With an annoyed sigh, Remus answered, "I've known since the beginning of the year. I found out when I was first calling roll. Needless to say, I was a little startled when I saw Black on the roster and looked up to see a girly you."  
  
"So why didn't you tell me right away?"  
  
"Destiny wasn't really sure she wanted to tell you," Harry replied. "She wanted to meet you first so that if you two didn't like each other, you could save both of yourselves the hassle, but. I think that something happened yesterday that changed her mind.  
  
"What do you mean?" Remus asked concerned.  
  
"I'm not sure. She's just been acting. different. Before, being liked was the most important thing to her, but suddenly. it just doesn't matter anymore. It's like she's more confident, wiser. Do you know what I'm saying?"  
  
Looking slightly nervous suddenly, Remus said, "I'm sure it's nothing." Picking up his pace, he called to them, "Come on. Must hurry. Don't want to be late!"  
  
Raising his eyebrows at his Godfather, Harry asked, "What's with him?"  
  
*****  
  
A quarter of an hour later, Harry found himself sitting nervously at the table with the Phoenix members.  
  
"Welcome everyone!" Dumbledore said enthusiastically. "To start with, we are going to initiate a new member. Harry, please stand." Nervously, he rose to his feet. "Mister Harold James Potter, do you swear to fight against the Dark Arts, to protect the innocents of the world and to help any member of the Order of the Phoenix- no matter your personal feelings- if need be, until you die? If so, raise your wand , touch the symbol of the phoenix and answer, 'I do'."  
  
Without hesitation, he raised his wand, touched the phoenix that had been carved into the table, and stated clearly, "I do."  
  
Smiling, Dumbledore shook his hand and said, "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix." In a lowered voice, he added, "Your father would be very proud."  
  
Just as he was about to answer, Sirius came up from behind and hugged him. Everyone laughed as Harry let out a yelp of surprise as Sirius' hug lifted him clear off of his feet. Everyone continued to chuckle as they reseated themselves. Once settled, Dumbledore spoke.  
  
"Now, to the point of this organization: Voldemort has struck once again. Another student has lost their parents. We need to start figuring out who some of the newer Death Eaters are and if any of them would be willing to become a spy. If they are not, we need to start putting them in jail and planting our own spies. Does anybody have any suggestions on what course of action me should take?"  
  
Tentatively, Harry raised his hand. At Dumbledore's nod, he spoke.  
  
"I think we need to start recruiting more people to fight with us. If we recruited people who could look innocent and blend in, we would be able to find out more secrets. Also, if we can figure out whom Voldemort is going to try to recruit, we can ask them to spy for us. Or in the very least, hide them." Looking around, he was relieved to see people nodding in agreement.  
  
Looking at Harry closely, Dumbledore carefully asked, "Do you know who he's targeting?" Harry nodded. "A dream?" Again, he nodded. "Why didn't you come talk to me as soon as you woke up?"  
  
Giving the Headmaster a sad look, Harry said, "Because I knew that one of the people had something very important to do today and if I told you before she did it, she probably would never get the chance to. I had to at least give her that chance. Especially if she's going to be forced to become a spy or go into hiding."  
  
"Very well. Who is it that Voldemort is targeting?  
  
Looking around nervously- and lingering on Sirius-, he said, "Draco Malfoy and Destiny Black."  
  
  
  
Thanks to: Roxy, Booger and Co (I LOVE your name. I crack up every time you review!), and Lama  
  
** ROXY: I didn't even realize they weren't talking about Harry ever. But if you think about it, Harry kind of got Destiny's dad though and she never gets to have her father. Harry's parents do care though. They've just spent so much time with Destiny over the years that she's kind of their daughter too. I don't know. I'll work on it! Thanks for the suggestion! ** 


	8. Targeted

Disclaimer: I own Destiny. JK Rowlings' owns everything else.  
  
  
  
Targeted  
  
Chapter 8  
  
". Destiny Black."  
  
When Sirius heard that, he froze. 'No.' he thought desperately. 'There has to be a mistake!' He hadn't wanted to admit it, but he really was looking forward to getting to know Destiny. He found himself thinking of all the fun things they could do as a family- and the pranks he could teach her. Now though, it seemed she would either become a spy or be forced to go into hiding. If she wasn't working for Voldemort already. Thinking this, he quickly focused his attention on Harry.  
  
"What else did you see? Why would he want her?" Sirius asked desperately.  
  
"He said it was because of some prophecy. Also because she was the Ghostly Seer. What is that supposed to mean?" Not waiting for an answer, Harry continued. "Voldemort said that she had the ability to get rid of the Mage. Does any of this make sense to anyone?"  
  
Looking thoughtful, Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Remus.  
  
"We need to make sure that Destiny does not end up on his side. If she does, we've lost."  
  
Calmly, Dumbledore said, "Remus, I'm afraid you're going to have to tell us what you've found out about Miss Black if we're going to be able to protect her. We need to know why Voldemort is hunting her."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Remus replied, "I can't tell you. Destiny made it very clear that if I told, I would regret it. Besides, she needs to know that we're on her side and that we won't turn on her."  
  
Quickly thinking up a solution, Sirius jumped into the conversation. "What if we ask her join the Order? That might keep her on our side. I mean, she is a kid. She'll think it's a great honor and won't want to switch sides."  
  
As everyone started to nod, Remus snorted and shook his head in disgust.  
  
"Do you think she's stupid? She'll know what you're doing. Besides, if you knew what the prophecy meant by 'Ghostly Seer', you probably wouldn't want her to be a part of the Order. After all, I remember how hard you fought to keep me out and from letting Sirius back in." At this, he glared at the others in the room.  
  
Clearing his throat, Dumbledore got their attention.  
  
"Remus, while it's admirable that you do not wish to tell Miss Black's secret, do you suppose you can get her to tell it to me herself? That way you've kept her confidence and we will be able to help her."  
  
Shaking his head, Remus replied slowly. "No, she won't listen to me. But she may tell Harry, and he might be able to convince her to speak with you."  
  
Raising his eyebrows at Remus, Sirius spoke up. "She's only known Harry for a short time. Why would she tell him something that is obviously very important?"  
  
Giving a slight smile, Remus answered. "She's in love with him."  
  
"She is not!" Harry exclaimed, turning red.  
  
"Yes she is," Remus said calmly.  
  
"So you can use that to get the information to help us, which will allow us to help her!" Looking suddenly worried about Harry's involvement, Sirius said, "Of course we'd only do this if you wanted to. I don't want you to end up being the bad guy in this. But Destiny needs our help too!" Putting a hand to his head, he groaned, "This meeting is giving me a headache." Giving his head a shake to clear it of unwanted thoughts, Sirius muttered, "You know this would be a lot easier if Remus here wasn't such a stick in the mud."  
  
Looking him in the eye, Remus replied evenly, "I'm sure James was wishing that Peter was a stick in the mud as Voldemort murdered him."  
  
At this, no one made a sound. Finally having had enough, Harry sighed. "I'll try to get her to tell you, Sir," he said to Dumbledore.  
  
"Thank you Harry. That's all I'm asking for."  
  
*****  
  
As Harry, Professor Lupin, and Sirius- as Padfoot- walked down the hall, Harry couldn't figure out how he was going to get Destiny to tell him her secret.  
  
"Harry. What are you going to say to her when you see her next?" Remus inquired, concerned about how Destiny would react to people interfering with her life.  
  
"I'm not sure."  
  
"Well, whatever you do, don't use her feelings against her. If you don't like her, don't lead her on. Other wise it will go bad for all of us."  
  
"What is she? I mean, she must be pretty powerful for you to be so afraid of telling her secret without permission."  
  
"I won't tell you. You'll understand when you find out why. But I will tell you this: Don't judge her before you know the whole story. If you do, I guarantee you'll regret it. She'll never trust you again."  
  
As they walked away, Harry couldn't help thinking, 'Why me?'  
  
*****  
  
As Destiny walked away from where she had just met with her father, she began to whistle. Things were finally changing for the better.  
  
'Now, how to get Harry's attention.'  
  
Deciding that she didn't want to hang out with Ron and Hermione at the moment, Destiny went outside to take a walk around the lake. As she strolled along, she turned her thoughts to the Potters.  
  
'I wonder where they are. I still can't believe they just took off like that! And I figured they would have come back by now. They've never left for this much time before.'  
  
As she continued walking nearer to the Forbidden Forest, she heard her name being whispered into the wind.  
  
"Destiny."  
  
Looking around for the origin of the voice, she called out a cautious, "Hello? Is anyone there?"  
  
"Necromancer."  
  
"Okay, where are you?" she called out again, slightly angry that anyone would address her as such. Pausing for a moment to gather her thoughts- and to steel herself for the inevitable-, she thought, 'Oh, this is so stupid! It feels like a bad horror movie. I'm probably going to end up being stabbed to death.' Giving a bitter laugh at the insanely stupid thing she was about to do, Destiny quickly headed into the forest to look for the owner of the voice.  
  
After walking for a few minutes, she slowed to a stop. "Alright, I'm in the forest. If I scream, nobody will hear me. Show yourself."  
  
"Necromancer." the voice hissed evilly.  
  
Knowing what was coming- and mentally kicking herself for knowingly walking into this situation-, she didn't even bother to turn around as she responded with a quiet, "Riddle." Turning around, she saw exactly what she had expected to see. In front of her stood a tall man with white skin and red eyes. He resembled a snake so much it was difficult to see him as a human being. 'But he's not human,' her mind whispered, 'not anymore. He lost his humanity during his last reign of terror.'  
  
Lifting her eyes defiantly to meet his, she said calmly, "Welcome to my forest. To what do I owe this visit?"  
  
As Voldemort approached, she was surprised that she felt no fear within her.  
  
"Hello Necromancer."  
  
"Yes, I think that we've established that I am indeed a Necromancer. I do have a name you know."  
  
"Ah, yes. Destiny Black. The infamous convicts daughter. How is he?"  
  
"Peachy. How's yours? Rotting nicely I hope?"  
  
As she said this, his eyes narrowed. "Enough! I am here to offer you a position with me."  
  
"Should I be flattered?"  
  
"Indeed you should. It is a very rare that I recruit followers myself. I am giving you a chance to join my family. What do you say? Are you willing to follow me?"  
  
Giving the man in front of her a disgusted look, she raised her head proudly and spat, "I will NOT be a Death Eater! They carry no respect. They become nothing more than a servant the instant they take your mark onto their flesh. I am no ones dog!"  
  
Obviously surprised at her fearless attitude- though he hid it well-, he smiled. It was a chilling sight to see on such an evil face.  
  
"I was not asking you to be a servant-"  
  
"I will not be a Death Eater. I can tell you that if I wanted to rule the world, I would be better off doing so on my own."  
  
"I was offering you a position as my Second in Command. It is a very well known fact that all of the truly great Dark Lords have had a Dark Creature as a Second. And what better ally than one who looks totally innocent but is to grow into the most powerful creature in the world. And to top it off, you can see the future. What do you say now? I can offer you more than that Muggle- loving- fool Dumbledore ever could."  
  
"What would you give me?" Destiny asked, genuinely curious. It wasn't that she actually wanted to join the Dark Side- she had after all been raised by the two ghosts who opposed the Dark completely-, but she did want to know if Voldemort, of all people, could figure out what the one thing in all the world was that she really wanted.  
  
"I could give you the world." Raising an eyebrow, she waved for him to continue. "I could give you jewels, beautiful clothing, and any man you wanted. I've heard you've taken a liking for the Malfoy boy. You could have him. Anything you wanted."  
  
Feeling a little unnerved by the thought of Draco being forced to become her play thing, Destiny opened her mouth to tell him to forget it, that she couldn't be bribed, when Voldemort continued.  
  
"You could have your father back. I have the power to prove you father never betrayed the Potter's. Isn't that what you've always wanted? To have a true family that accepted you?"  
  
Deciding that she needed to get out of there before she did something she knew she would regret, she said as calmly as she could, "I'll think about it. I'll let you know in a month or so. For the moment though, I have to go to Quidditch try-outs or people are going to question my where abouts." With that, she turned and started to walk away.  
  
"Necromancer." Destiny stopped but didn't turn. "I will send a servant for your reply within a month. If you reject my offer, you will die."  
  
"No." Spinning around, Destiny hissed while narrowing her eyes, "I will decide what I wish to do and no matter my choice, I will survive. And all of your pathetic 'family' who make any attempt on my life will die!" Spinning back around, she walked with her head held high out of the forest.  
  
As soon as she stepped out of the trees, she raised her wand and yelled, "Accio Nimbus 2000!" When her broom reached her, she jumped on and headed towards the Quidditch field to do some laps.  
  
Destiny quickly ran over the last few minutes in her mind. 'Okay. He obviously has something planned, otherwise there's no way he would have let me smart off to him like that. What am I going to do! I could tell Dumbledore but there's no guaranteeing that he'd believe I wasn't a spy trying to get in good with him. And even if I did tell him, he'd want to know why Voldemort wanted me. I could tell Harry. He might believe me.' As she approached the field, she made a decision. 'James told me to learn to handle things on my own. If I was a spy, I could help Harry and most importantly, show people that just because we're called Dark Creatures, doesn't mean we're evil. Or I could make an army of ghosts and shunned Creatures and prove it that way. Oh, man. This is giving me a migraine.'  
  
*****  
  
As Harry hurried to the common room, he wondered how he was going to get Destiny to cooperate.  
  
'Maybe she'll just tell me and I'm worrying over nothing.'  
  
Climbing through the entrance on Gryffindor tower, Harry hurried over to his friends.  
  
"Where's Destiny?"  
  
Without looking up from her book, Hermione said, "She went for a walk around the lake."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Harry was just turning to head back out of the tower when he felt a blinding pain run through his scar. At his gasp of pain, his friends quickly looked up and hurried over to where he was doubled over in pain.  
  
"Harry! What's wrong?" Hermione shrieked with worry.  
  
"Voldemort. He's nearby." Quickly rising to his feet, he ran to the Headmasters office with his friend's right behind him.  
  
"Pumpkin Pasty!" he panted. Quickly running up the stairs after the gargoyle jumped aside, he banged on the door. "Professor Dumbledore!" The door immediately opened and Dumbledore stepped aside to let them in.  
  
"What is wrong, child?"  
  
"My scar. It was burning and when I closed my eyes, I was able to see Voldemort just like I can in my dreams. He's in the Forbidden Forest and he's recruiting. the Ghostly Seer," he said after a moment's hesitation. He didn't really want to tell Ron and Hermione it was Destiny he had seen being recruited. There was a chance- even though it was small at best -, that one of them might believe she was working for that evil git. He didn't want to be responsible for that happening, especially before he had a chance to find out what was happening for himself.  
  
Immediately Dumbledore rose from where he had sat down.  
  
"Are you certain?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
Turning to Ron and Hermione, Dumbledore said, "Go get Professor Lupin and tell him to meet me by the forest, near the lake. Inform him that the Ghostly Seer is in grave danger. Then go back to your common room." With that, Dumbledore turned and started out the door and down the corridor at a jog. To Harry, who was hurrying along beside him, he asked, "Are you aware as of yet, what the out come of this discussion was?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "She didn't seem to be afraid though. She just seemed to be listening. You don't think she would. do you?"  
  
"I'm not sure, but we must help her, no matter her choice."  
  
As they were descending the stairs at the front of the castle to head to the forest, they saw Destiny mounting a broom and flying towards the Quidditch pitch. Immediately after, the now near blinding pain that was causing Harry to stagger slightly, vanished.  
  
Taking a much-needed breath of air, Harry said, "Sir? Voldemort is gone. Destiny's heading towards the Quidditch pitch for try-outs. They were scheduled for today in about thirty minutes."  
  
Nodding, Dumbledore said, "I think we need to have a little chat with Miss Black. Go ahead with the try-outs and try to find out what she is hiding. If she will not tell you. I may be forced to take drastic measures to ensure the safety of the students at this school. I can't have a Death Eater around posing a threat to anyone."  
  
"Yes, Sir. I'll find out what happened in the forest as well."  
  
Harry quickly ran back up to his dorm and grabbed his top of the line Lightning 3000 that he had gotten from all of his friends for his birthday, and ran out to the pitch with Ron and Hermione right behind him.  
  
"Hey guys!" Destiny called from where she was hanging upside down with her legs from her broom. "What took you so long?"  
  
Trying to act as normal as possible, Harry said, "Lost track of time."  
  
"Of that's great!" she giggled. "The captain can't even show up on time!"  
  
Giving her a look that clearly said shut-up; he turned to the assembled group of hopefuls and said loudly, "Alright! Let's separate into groups of who's trying out for chaser and who's trying out for beater."  
  
When the groups were formed, there were six people trying out for chaser and four for beater. Destiny had decided to go for chaser.  
  
He split them up into two different teams and had them play against one another. There was no keeper or seeker playing, so, the object of the game was to get past the other team's chasers and beaters while trying to get the quaffle through the hoops.  
  
Right off he could tell that two of the second years were going to be cut. By the time he called them back down to the ground, he had cut two of the beaters and three chasers.  
  
The chasers then had to try to get the quaffle past Ron- who was the Gryffindor keeper-, while the beaters practiced hitting the blunger. Making his decision, he called them back down to the ground. A half an hour after he went off to talk to his teammates about who would be on the team, he announced the new players.  
  
"Our new beater," Harry said to the group, "is Jacob Jakely. Our new chaser is Destiny Black and our reserve chaser is Rebecca McHills. Congratulations and I'll see you three at practice tomorrow at 4:00pm. Be ready to work hard. Our first game is against Hufflepuff in two weeks." Turning to Destiny, he said, "Des, I need to talk with you in private."  
  
Grabbing her hand, he dragged her off towards the lake. When they were halfway there, he asked, "What happened?"  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked indignantly. "I thought I played really well for never having tried that position before. Okay that sounded really bad."  
  
Giving her the amused look that seemed to be becoming more frequent, he took a deep breath and looked her in the eye.  
  
"I know you met Voldemort in the forest." Hearing hurt creep into his voice, he whispered, "I thought I could trust you."  
  
Reaching over and grabbing both of his hands, she exclaimed sincerely, "You CAN trust me! Voldemort came to me, not the other way around."  
  
"Why? Why would he want you?" When Destiny just shook her head helplessly, he demanded that she roll up her left sleeve.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do it! I have to be sure."  
  
"So much for trust among friends," she muttered, rolling up her sleeve anyways.  
  
Her arm was smooth and unblemished- there was no sign of the Dark Mark. Giving a sigh of relief, he looked up at her face. He was more than a little startled to see the usually unflinching Destiny's eyes filling with tears.  
  
"Oh! Don't cry! I'm sorry!" Without hesitation, he stepped up and hugged her tightly. She didn't move for a moment, but as she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head upon his chest, he knew that no matter why she felt the need to keep the secret, he would always be there to help her.  
  
Smiling to himself, he thought to himself, 'I love her.'  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to: James, Xaiver (Don't worry! Lily and James will come back!), Shayomac (I loved that chapter too!), LCM, and JennyT. 


	9. The Necromancer

Disclaimer: I own Destiny and the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling  
  
  
  
The Necromancer  
  
Chapter 9  
  
From her position in Harry's arms, Destiny smiled happily. 'I'm in Heaven!' she thought ecstatically. It was then that she decided that it was time to make a human ally; to tell someone, someone who was alive, the truth.  
  
Pulling out of his arms, Destiny looked up at him. "I need to tell you why Voldemort is after me." Taking his hand, she led him to a large rock beside the lake.  
  
"Okay, why is he after you?" Harry asked with patient concern.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she began her tale.  
  
"Even though I was actually born on March 30th 1982, it had been prophesized for years that me and another would be born to stop the spread of evil. The prophecy was supposed to help the Light Side but it caused more harm than good."  
  
"What's the prophecy?"  
  
"Born from the Dark,  
  
Destined to fight for the Light,  
  
The Ghostly Seer will be the difference  
  
Between victory and defeat.  
  
Befriended by the most powerful Mage,  
  
Neither alone can conquer the Dark.  
  
Only in standing together will the Light finally reign."  
  
"Wow. You're really important." Harry said, slightly awed.  
  
'Thank you, Mr. I-state-the obvious,' she thought, slightly annoyed.  
  
"Who's the Mage though? Do you know?"  
  
"You."  
  
Very seriously, Harry replied. "That's not funny. If we can figure out who it is, we can be rid of Voldemort forever!"  
  
"Harry. Haven't you ever wondered how you keep surviving against him?"  
  
"I've always just been concerned with the surviving part!"  
  
"When you go up against him and you panic, it causes you to be able to access your powers- even if it is only unconsciously- so that you can survive. My powers are different from yours though. Mine have been trained to react on command, so they can never be used without my full intentions.  
  
"What sort of powers do you have? What does Ghostly Seer mean?"  
  
"They're actually the same question. As you already know, I'm a Seer- YUCK!" Smiling sheepishly, she said, "Okay, I'm good! Moving on! I don't actually make prophecies but I do have visions. That's what I generally live my life by. I knew I had to come to Hogwarts after I had a vision involving the prophecy. I had it when I was around seven or so. The Ghostly part is what I am."  
  
"I don't get it. What are you?"  
  
"Well. I'm not human."  
  
"Why didn't you just tell us? It's not like it would have made that much of a difference."  
  
"Yeah, well, all my life I've been hated for one reason or another. When I was little, it was because I was Sirius Black's daughter. But, it got even worse as I got older and it became very obvious that I was the Necromancer."  
  
"Necromancer?"  
  
"I talk to the dead."  
  
"So? I made friends with Nearly Headless Nick."  
  
"No, I can see not just the visible ghosts, but also the invisible ones; the ones that no one else can see. Spirits that for one reason or another can't or won't move on. I can see them, make them solid, and make them visible to the living. Also, I'm able to walk the roads of the dead and help the spirits that have become lost on their journey to their final resting-place. These roads are called the Ghost Roads."  
  
Harry's eyes were wide with realization.  
  
"That's why Lupin wanted you to tell me yourself! Can you see all ghosts?"  
  
"Yes." Drawing in a rattling breath, she made her eyes as wide as they would go and whispered, "I see dead people."  
  
Harry didn't even bother to attempt a smile.  
  
"Have you seen my parents?"  
  
Looking at him sympathetically, she said simply, "Yes."  
  
"How are they? Where are they? How-"  
  
"Whoa! Turn down the switch to snail pace! First, they're fine- they're free to leave and move on to Heaven or Hell whenever they feel like it. Second, I don't know where they are. They took off yesterday because they think I can't think for myself. They'll be back though. They always come back."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked quietly.  
  
"It wasn't the right time."  
  
"Why can you see them but I can't?"  
  
"Because I'm a Nec-"  
  
"That's not what I meant! Why are some ghosts visible but others aren't?"  
  
"You know, that's a really good question! Nobody's ever asked me that before. Um. Let's see. The visible ghosts are that way because they have some type of unfinished business that can't ever be finished. They're doomed to walk the earth for the rest of eternity searching for a way to right the wrong, or what ever. Spirits though are still here because they either are afraid to try to travel to their final destination or they don't want to leave. Your parents are the second type of ghost. They can leave and move on whenever they want but have chosen to stay behind because they felt they were still needed. At first it was because of you. They wanted to see you grow up, even if they couldn't participate in your life. Later though, it was because they felt they had to make amends to my father- for his being imprisoned- even if it didn't physically help him. Now they're here to protect you- even if it means putting me in danger to do it." The last part was said in a sarcastic sort of voice.  
  
"I'm sorry. I don't want to put you in danger."  
  
"Nah," she said, waving away his apology, "I'm going to be hunted down and the Ministry is going to attempt to murder me anyway."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"'Cause I'm a Dark Creature. Seeing the dead is considered the darkest of Dark Magic-"  
  
"Just like talking to snakes is, right? Des, I don't care what those idiots at the Ministry say about you. I just want to be friends!"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes," he said firmly to push all doubts out of her head. "Now start at the beginning."  
  
"At the beginning, the most beautiful-" Hearing him snort with laughter, she stuck her tongue out at him and started again. "You already know the story about your parents and most of my past- I just omitted some things. After my father was sent to Azkaban, my mother destroyed everything he owned that he had left in the house. The next day- November 2nd 1981-, my mother found out she was pregnant with me. She resented me from the start. As I got older, my mom began to see me talking to 'imaginary friends'. It didn't take her long to figure out that there was really somebody there and that they were also dead. That didn't go over well, as you can imagine. She didn't want dead things in her house- no matter if they used to be her friends or not-, which I can completely understand. I mean, if I wasn't what I am, I'd find it creepy too. I wouldn't want to have something there that I couldn't see. It's just human instinct. The final blow that destroyed any chance of us getting along came when I started to use my powers in front of her and not just when she wasn't looking. From that moment on, she forbade me to use my powers- ever. She said they were evil and it would make me even more evil than I already was. Lily and James- your parents- always made sure to come through afterwards to do damage control. They encouraged me to use my powers so that one day I could stand up to her."  
  
"I ended up going to four different schools before I came here- including the infamous Salem. I hated it there. Everyone hated me for one reason or another- actually they just hated me because I was different. They see differences as bad; they're very superstitious. One day last spring, while I was at Salem, I had a vision of a giant castle and of me as a student there."  
  
"How did you know you were a student there?"  
  
"I would never wear a black, plain robe if it wasn't required. Anyways, when I told James-"  
  
"My dad?"  
  
"Yes, but more about him later; my story now. I told James and he had me threaten the Headmistress of Salem. He told me to tell her that unless she asked Dumbledore to allow me to transfer- without telling him what I was, of course- I would set every ghost within a ten-mile radius on her and her students. She agreed, even though I'm sure she did it for her sake more than for anyone else's. She was never a very nice person; only cared for herself. So, hear I am!"  
  
"You said that before," Harry said smiling. Deciding to take Sirius advice- just because it felt like the right thing- he said, "Des, would you like to join a secret organization dedicated to the destruction of Voldemort?"  
  
"Sure," Destiny said as if she were asked this type of question everyday.  
  
"You'll have to tell Dumbledore though."  
  
Looking thoughtful, she asked curiously, "What if he expels me? It'll be your fault if he does, since you're the one telling me to tell him."  
  
"He won't. He let Lupin come to school here and gave him a job. He'd accept you!"  
  
"Perhaps. Fine, but you have to come with me. K?"  
  
"I'd be glad to. Come on, let's go!"  
  
*****  
  
As Harry walked with Destiny to Dumbledore's office, his mind was in chaos. He had been told so much that he was having a hard time absorbing it all. The only thing that was clear though was that Destiny was on their side.  
  
'Plus, she wants to join the Order, which means I'll get to spend even more time with her!'  
  
As he knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't asked her about Voldemort. When the Headmaster saw who was waiting for him, he quickly let them in.  
  
"Sir, Destiny's willing to tell you her secret." Looking around, he was surprised to see Lupin and Sirius. "What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"We're here to discuss the Voldemort situation," Lupin said as Sirius glanced in Destiny's direction.  
  
Giving Lupin a sharp look and a barely perceptible shake of his head, Dumbledore, smiled at Destiny and asked for her to sit and explain.  
  
As Destiny gave an abridged version of the story she had told him, Harry watched everyone's faces. Dumbledore's face was impassive but not condemning, Lupin's was pitying, and Sirius's shocked.  
  
"So, now I'm here," she finished after leaving out the parts about his parents.  
  
After a moments pause, Dumbledore spoke. "While I understand your hesitation to tell your secret, you should have come to me immediately and informed me. I would have helped you conceal it. I would not have turned you away until you had given me a reason to do so."  
  
"Yeah, well, I didn't particularly want to risk being expelled before I'd even had a chance. Excuse me for reacting the way I've always been forced to. Not everyone understands and most don't even try-"  
  
Cutting in, Remus exclaimed, "Alright that's enough! Destiny, we know Voldemort has been targeting you and that you were in the forest with him earlier today. What happened?"  
  
Looking offended that he had pretty much told her to shut up, she replied to his question in a huffy voice. "I've known for years that Voldemort is after me. So. when I heard him calling my name, I just decided to stop postponing the inevitable and get the meeting over with. So I just went into the forest to where I knew he would show himself." Seeing more shocked faces, she continued. "I'm tired of running, of hiding so that other people can remain in blissful oblivion. I decided that I would rather be a brave dead person than a living coward. Voldemort was there recruiting. he offered me a position as his Second in Command. He also bribed me. He said I could have anything I wanted: clothes, jewels. The real question now is. Why should I stay on your side?"  
  
'Whoa! Rewind!' Harry thought when he heard this. 'I thought.'  
  
Seemingly unaffected by her question, Dumbledore replied calmly, "We don't bribe people to work for us. The light side gathers its recruits from people who only want to help because it's the right thing to do."  
  
"Yeah, well, pretend I am all that; do you honestly think that your precious little Order is going to want me? I mean, seriously!"  
  
"You would have to prove yourself of cour-"  
  
Turning away from the Headmaster, she kicked the wall angrily.  
  
"Prove myself? Prove myself! You know, I was tempted to join Riddle the moment he said I'd be his second. I wouldn't have to 'prove myself' on the Dark side! Did you know that Voldemort just barely missed the mark on what I wanted."  
  
"What do you want?" Sirius asked soothingly, confused and desperate to keep his daughter-or anyone- away from the monster. "Whatever it is, we'll give it to you!"  
  
Going from angry to sad in an instant, Destiny replied quietly, "If you have to ask. then you could never understand."  
  
While trying to think of what she could possibly want that was so important that she was willing to go over to the Dark side to get it, he heard the Headmaster respond. "We may not understand but if you tell us, we can consider getting it for you. Of course, it has to be reasonable."  
  
Giving the old man a look that made it seem as if her soul was dying, Destiny whispered, "But that's just the point. If you couldn't understand, how could anyone else?" Without another word, Destiny turned and walked out of the room.  
  
After a moment of silence, Sirius exclaimed, "Come on people, think! What is it that she could possibly want that you have to know without being told? Something we wouldn't understand?"  
  
"Freedom." Remus whispered mournfully.  
  
"What? She's not a prisoner to anyone," Sirius said confused.  
  
"No, not physical freedom. Freedom to be who she wants to be. My God, that's it!" Turning to face them all, Remus exclaimed excitedly, "She wants people to know what she is but to just be treated like everyone else at the same time! She wants people to hate her because of her looks or attitude, not because she can do something that others can't! And she doesn't just want it for herself; she wants it for all Dark Creatures. I mean, how many times did she call herself one? She considers herself to be one of them, even if she is the only one of her race that's alive at the moment. That's all she's asking for!"  
  
Looking suddenly very old, Dumbledore went and sat at his desk, leaning his head into his hands. "The one thing she wants just happens to be something that nobody can give her."  
  
Hearing the defeat in the Headmasters voice, Remus said with defensive anger, "She's not asking for a miracle; just for you to try. All it takes is one person who is willing to try, for the ripple effect to begin. If people see somebody willing to accept the differences, maybe they will feel more inclined to try themselves. But somebody has to start it. And it would help tremendously if they were human."  
  
Sighing, Dumbledore said, "I didn't say I wouldn't try, I just meant that there was no guarantee and that not everyone will treat her right, no matter how accepting the world becomes." Lifting his head from his hands, he gazed at Remus sadly. "Would you please explain that to her?"  
  
Looking regretful for what he was about to say, Remus said firmly, "No, I won't. Life for a Dark Creature is difficult and hope is all that we have. I will not take that last bit of light away from her. The world will destroy it soon enough, but it won't be because of me. Now, I'm going to go make sure that she's not destroying anything in a fit of anger. You though are going to have to be the one to make the deal with her. And I suggest you hurry before she does something rash." Turning, the werewolf walked out without a back-wards glance.  
  
After the door closed, Sirius raised his eyebrows and asked, "Did anyone else feel like a little kid just then?"  
  
*****  
  
As Destiny stormed away from the Headmasters office, she turned and headed away from Gryffindor tower. She knew that if she was to return to the common room, they would find her immediately and she just wanted to be left alone at the moment.  
  
Sighing quietly, she thought, 'Why do I care so much about what they think? I knew they would react this way.' Her shoulders sagged when she realized the answer to her question. 'Because I thought they were different.'  
  
'Harry is,' her mind whispered.  
  
'No,' she thought fiercely, 'he's not. If he were, he would have said something in my defense.'  
  
She was so wrapped up in lecturing herself she didn't even see the boy in front of her until she ran into him.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, looking up at him from her position on the floor.  
  
"Hey Des!" Draco said with a small smile, leaning down and pulling her to her feet. "Don't worry about it." Seeing how miserable she was, he dropped his smile. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing," she muttered, looking at the ground.  
  
"You CAN trust me you know."  
  
Jerking her head up to look him in the eye, she asked, "Can I? Won't you just betray me to your Death Eater father?"  
  
Eyes widening in shock, he exclaimed, "No! . So they've tried to recruit you too?"  
  
"Yeah. Been a bad day. Harry saw me. I had to give my life story. I didn't even like living it the first time, let alone having to purposely remember it all."  
  
Standing there in silence for a moment, Draco finally said, "Well, no sense pouting about it. Come on, maybe we can get the house elves to give you something with alcohol to calm you down."  
  
"How 'bout something sugary? Sugar equals happiness. at least in my book it does," Destiny stated unemotionally.  
  
With a grin, Draco threw his arm around her shoulder, gave her a friendly squeeze and started pulling her in the direction of the kitchens.  
  
"Whatever you want."  
  
"Why are you so nice to me?" Destiny asked abruptly, confusion showing in her eyes. "I mean, I AM a Gryffindor."  
  
"Because you cared enough to keep pestering me to be friends. You care about others so much you'd sacrifice yourself in an instant to save another. even if the other person was your enemy. Also, you act like a queen, even when you are treated like a servant. That, to me, makes you worthy of respect. Ahem! To quote that muggle book, 'A Little Princess', 'it's easy to act like a princess in fine clothes and all that, but a true princess can act like royalty, even in rags. Or something like that."  
  
Giggling, she cried, "That's not how it goes. but thank you. It helped."  
  
"Don't mention it."  
  
Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, she finally asked in an amused tone, "Do I even want to know why you were reading a muggle, GIRL book?"  
  
"Oh, shut up you!" Apparently deciding it was time to turn the conversation- and Destiny's laughter- away from him, Draco said, "By the way, what exactly did you say to You- Know- Who? He looked a little shaken when I met him- and that's saying something! I didn't think he had anything to fear from anyone!"  
  
"Let's just say, when I get mad, I get kind of dramatic. to put it mildly."  
  
*****  
  
As Remus walked down the corridor looking for Destiny Black, he couldn't help but wonder what had been wrong with him lately. In the past few hours, he had gotten angry more often than he had in the past year.  
  
'It's Destiny. She makes the people around her want to hope for something more, for a better life. I've never seen a Dark Creature actually put themselves in danger for others the way that she does.'  
  
Deciding it was best to search places he would have gone, he turned to the one place where comfort could always be found: in food.  
  
After tickling the pear and climbing into the kitchens, he looked around. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Destiny seemed to have found a friend her own age, one who would be more than capable of understanding her dilemma.  
  
"Destiny?" he called to her.  
  
When she heard his voice, her shoulders stiffened. "I do NOT want to talk to you."  
  
"I know, and I don't blame you. But I do know what you're going through, and you have to understand that they're only human. You of all people should understand that no matter how hard they try, they will never truly understand. How could they?" Pausing for a moment, he decided to ask about Draco. "Does he know?"  
  
"I know. She never told me, but I could tell. A ghost or Mage powers were the only things that could have made Professor Snape fall like that, and considering the topaz eyes, I knew which one it was." Turning to Destiny, he said, "Do you want me to leave?"  
  
Nodding, Destiny replied, "Please. I'll come find you later. We'll hang."  
  
"Hang?" Draco asked, looking as confused as Remus felt.  
  
Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Never mind." After Draco was out of earshot, she demanded to know what had happened after she had left.  
  
"We argued. They tried to figure out what you wanted-"  
  
"Did they?"  
  
"Yes, they know. Dumbledore will offer it to you soon. If he doesn't, are you- what are you going to do?"  
  
"Hey, right now I'm more concerned with what Parvati is doing to my things without me being there!" Grimacing, she ground her teeth together. "As of now though, I need to get back to my dorm. I need to be ready."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For the school to find out. When they do, I have to be ready to leave. I've learned it's better to disappear for a while, otherwise, people attempt to do horrible things to me."  
  
*****  
  
Destiny quickly threw everything she owned into her trunk. She hadn't told Remus the truth. The truth was, no matter what she chose, she would be hunted.  
  
'Best to be far away from everything then.'  
  
As she threw everything over her shoulder into her trunk, she was startled to hear a squeal of pain. Spinning around, she saw Hermione standing with a shoe in her hand.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Packing," Destiny replied shortly.  
  
"I can see that. Why?"  
  
"I'm leaving."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Ask Harry. He can tell you why."  
  
"Weren't you even going to tell anyone?"  
  
Hearing the hurt in her friends' voice, Destiny stopped what she was doing and looked at her with a blank expression. "I was going to leave a note. Feel honored I was even going to be kind enough to do that."  
  
Seeing that she was serious, Hermione turned and ran out of the room as fast as her legs would carry her.  
  
Destiny was just closing her trunk when Hermione returned with Ron and Harry on her heels. Shoving past his friends, Harry ran up to her, grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around to face him.  
  
"What is wrong with you?" Harry shouted, shaking his head in disbelief. "Were you just going to take off and expect no one to care?"  
  
"Pretty much. It's what I've always done at my old schools. Get expelled, wait for holidays so I can go back to my mother," she replied tonelessly. "Let go of me."  
  
"No! I'm not letting you leave!"  
  
"Why? Why would it matter to you if I stayed or not?"  
  
"Because I love you!"  
  
*****  
  
"Because I love you!"  
  
At this, Destiny froze.  
  
'Love me?' she thought numbly.  
  
"Yes! I've been in love with you every since we first ran into each other in Diagon Alley!"  
  
'Guess that came out, out loud.' she thought listlessly.  
  
Hearing the echo of what James had said in the forest, she wrenched her arms away.  
  
"Some things are more important than love. The survival of the Light Side- of the world- is more important than the life of anyone in this school!"  
  
'. Lead the army you were born to command.'  
  
Hearing James' voice once more, she finally understood what she had to do.  
  
"Harry Potter." Stepping up and taking his hands in hers, she looked him in the eye. "I love you too. But- but for the first time in my life, I understand that my life isn't important. I've spent my entire life only thinking of myself- of my pain- and following the orders others gave to me. Now I know it's time to. To lead the army I was born to command."  
  
"I don't get it," Ron said. "What army?"  
  
"An army of victims," she murmured. Bending down, Destiny shrank and picked up her trunk. Turning back to Harry, she said decisively, "I'm leaving now. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I can tell you that when I return, I will have an army backing me up. While I'm gone, people will get used to the idea of me being inhuman. Do what you can with the Order, but don't stress over it. When I return, be ready to train me in auror combat and also be ready to learn how to use you Mage powers. By the end of this year, I want to be ready."  
  
"Ready?" Hermione asked, feeling dread creep over her. "For what?"  
  
"War," Destiny whispered before turning and walking out the door. 


	10. The Mist and the Mausoleum

Disclaimer: I own Destiny and anything you don't recognize.  
  
The Mist and the Mausoleum  
  
Chapter 10  
  
As November passed and December approached, Harry saw many of the things Destiny had said would happen, come to pass.  
  
The day after Destiny left, Draco Malfoy- with Destiny's permission- began telling everyone what she was. The school was shocked, but when they remembered her as the kind, friendly, funny girl they had all loved, most accepted her- or would at the very least not show open hostility- even if some didn't. Only about half of the students showed any disgust or fear. Harry was actually glad to have Draco around to deal with the problems that ensued from the fear.  
  
What fear Malfoy couldn't stop, Remus Lupin tried to dispel. Lupin had taken to doing lessons on Dark Creatures and Necromancy, to try and show that anyone could go to the Dark Side; that just because they were branded with the title, it didn't make them bad. Some were accepting to this line of thinking; many were not.  
  
The Order of the Phoenix was a different story though. Most refused to believe that a Necromancer who had been approached by Voldemort himself, would actually turn down such an offer.  
  
The only good thing about Destiny being gone was that Sirius was getting more and more protective of his missing daughter and was likely to explode at anyone who had a bad word to say about her.  
  
All in all, Harry missed Destiny more than he wanted to admit. The old saying had been proven true though: distance really did make the heart grow fonder.  
  
*****  
  
Overhead, a full moon rose high over the trees. In the distance, howls could be heard from the wolves that ruled this land after dark. In a cemetery that had long since stopped being taken care of, the mist had begun to rise. To any muggle that passed by, it would look like a scene from a horror movie.  
  
In the center of the cemetery, among the tombstones and mausoleums, there stood a cloaked, hooded figure. The figure stood with its arms out stretched to its sides, looking for all the world as if it had turned to stone. With a sudden movement, the figure brought its arms together and clapped its hands in front of itself. A bolt of lightning flashed out of the sky and hit the ground directly in front of it. Within seconds, the sound of tortured screams rose into the air. Then the cemetery, in the quiet forest, began to run with blood.  
  
By the next morning, the only reminder of the night before was a small, burnt scar on the ground.  
  
*****  
  
As the owl post arrived on a bright, cold morning in mid December, everyone was expecting nothing out of the ordinary.  
  
When an owl carrying a Daily Prophet for Harry arrived, he paid the owl, sent it on its way and dropped the newspaper onto the table. Ron immediately reached over and grabbed it. Harry quickly looked up when he heard Ron gasp.  
  
Grabbing the newspaper from Ron, Harry expected to see more reports of Death Eater related killings. Though not a killing, Harry was not disappointed. On the front page was a picture of a cemetery and the headline, 'Dark Magic in Graveyard'.  
  
Quickly scanning the article, he read about how lightning had struck the ground out of a clear sky. Aurors had found the place covered in Dark Magic that very few had the power to wield.  
  
Realizing what had caused it, Harry looked up at the head table. He was unsurprised when he saw Dumbledore and Lupin approaching him.  
  
"Harry? I need a moment with you in my office," Dumbledore said.  
  
Giving a hurried goodbye to his friends, Harry followed them. In the Headmasters office, Harry asked about the paper.  
  
Looking grave, Dumbledore stated, "The magic that was used is indeed Dark Magic. It can only be wielded by a certain species. a type of magic that only exists once every few hundred years. Necromancy. Harry," he said leaning forward at his desk while giving him an intense look, "did Destiny give you any hints as to what she was planning to do?"  
  
Thinking hard, Harry finally answered. "She said she was going to raise an army." Seeing the look of horror on their faces, he asked confusedly, "What?"  
  
Ignoring him, Lupin turned to Dumbledore. "She's going to start drawing the attention of the Ministry to herself if she keeps this up. It's the second time this week that this has happened." Pausing for a second to think, Lupin continued, "We need to find her before the Ministry does."  
  
"How do you propose we find her? She has managed to get clear across the country in forty- eight hours time. She could be anywhere."  
  
With a tired sigh, Lupin slid into a chair and rubbed his eyes defeatedly. "I know. She's like Sirius-"  
  
"Meaning she can probably hide just as well as he can."  
  
"They'll have people watching the cemeteries for her."  
  
"I'm not as worried about that as I am about this army. She could easily raise a bunch of zombies by accident. We need to talk with her or, at the very least, figure out how she's traveling so fast."  
  
"Zombies?" Harry asked. "Why would she raise zombies?"  
  
Jolting in surprise as if he had forgotten Harry was there, Lupin said, "Necromancy is one of the most difficult branches of magic to control. That is the reason why people fear those who have the ability."  
  
"I don't get it," Harry stated.  
  
"If they can control that magic, they are among the most powerful beings in the world. People fear that they will go to the Dark Side to learn that control."  
  
"Persecuting them is why so many go bad!"  
  
"Yes," Lupin whispered, "I know. We're very lucky that she was able to remain innocent for so long."  
  
". What do you think Voldemort will do to her if he finds her first?"  
  
Looking suddenly very old, Dumbledore said, "Let us hope that it won't come to that." With that, he turned his attention to Lupin. "We must find her at once."  
  
*****  
  
In the dark room, a rat skittered across the ground. The torch- light threw eerie shadows against the wall.  
  
"Wormtail, what news have you brought to me?" an evil voice hissed.  
  
Shaking, the rat quickly transformed into a man.  
  
"Master, the Necromancer has been attracting the attention of the Ministry."  
  
"Excellent. If she keeps it up, she'll do more harm than good to her cause, and will have no choice but to join me or die at the Ministry's hands. Do you know where she intends to go next?"  
  
Feeling the terror mounting within him, Wormtail squeaked, "No, my Lord."  
  
With a growl, the voice hissed, "Well find out before nightfall."  
  
As Pettigrew turned to hurry from the room, the Cruciatus Curse suddenly hit him from behind.  
  
"I didn't say you could leave," Lord Voldemort hissed.  
  
*****  
  
As the black cloaked figure hurried through the gray mist, it looked around.  
  
Nothing. That's where it was. A reality where the nothingness could drive one to insanity. if the person was still alive. If life had already abandoned the soul- which was the main way to reach this world of shadows- then it had to keep searching or become lost for all eternity. This gray world was the Ghost Roads- the roads of the dead.  
  
Hurrying along- careful not to wonder from the path- the figure turned and hissed at the spirits that were closing in with the hope of being freed. "Stay back! You're dead and you must continue your journey to your final resting-place. Be gone!"  
  
Not looking to see if they would listen, the figure turned and hurried to the only slit of light in this dull, colorless world, and stepped through into the night.  
  
*****  
  
"Albus!" Remus called as he ran into the Order of the Phoenix meeting.  
  
"You're late Remus," Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"I know! I was checking something and I believe I have found it! I know where Destiny will be tonight!"  
  
"Where?" Sirius asked, suddenly interested.  
  
Looking at Harry apologetically, Remus said, "Godric Hollow Cemetery. I've been able to track the energy to Lily and James's graves. I believe that they are the next graves on her list-"  
  
When Sirius heard this, his face turned red and he bellowed, "My kid would not turn them into zombies! Her of all people knows what 'respect for the dead' means!"  
  
"Um. Guys?" Harry said tentatively. "If we want to catch her before she leaves, I suggest we hurry."  
  
Nodding, Dumbledore replied, "You'll leave now."  
  
*****  
  
Feeling slightly nauseous after having just taken the portkey to Godric Hollow Cemetery, Harry climbed to his feet from where he'd landed on the street. Brushing himself off, he turned to where Lupin and Sirius had just apparated. Seeing them, Harry took a deep breath, headed towards the gate, and pushed it open.  
  
"There's no one here-" Hearing the gate slam shut behind them, he spun around. ". Or I could be wrong."  
  
In the middle of the cemetery, a fire flared up and immediately turned green.  
  
"She's around here somewhere," Remus whispered. "I can feel her."  
  
As they moved closer to the fire, they all jumped when a voice suddenly spoke from behind them.  
  
"Well, well, well. What have we here?"  
  
Spinning around, Harry didn't see anything.  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"Up." Looking up, he saw her sitting on top of a mausoleum. "Welcome to my home. Don't get many visitors around these parts. What brings you here?"  
  
Ignoring her questions, Harry answered with one of his own. "How did you get up there?"  
  
Hopping to her feet, she raised her arms and said mysteriously, "Flew." Turning, she walked to the center of the crypt and disappeared. Hearing the creaking of the door, they headed around to the other side. Destiny was just shutting the door as they reached her side. "What brings you to my home?"  
  
"Your home?" Sirius asked incredulously.  
  
"Yes," Destiny said as she waved her hand, causing the flames to shoot up to the size of a bonfire. "I live here, in this crypt. I've been staying here since I left Hogwarts. Now-" pausing to make sure they were listening, she repeated her earlier question. "Why are you here? I told Harry I'd be back when the time was right."  
  
"We heard about your nightly spells and thought we should tell you that the Ministry is on to you. As is Voldemort," Remus said carefully. "He's quite eager to hear your response to his question. He doesn't like that you keep eluding him."  
  
"Riddle will just have to learn to live with disappointment. As for the Ministry, I'm NOT afraid of them in the least. They may be on to me, but they'll never catch me. Only those I let find me, can." Looking suddenly very powerful, she asked in a tone that made it clear it wasn't a question, "So, what you want to know now is, what exactly have I been up to. Am I right, or am I right?" Not waiting for them to answer, she turned and headed back towards her 'home'. Waving for them to follow, she walked into the dark crypt.  
  
The room looked just as he had imagined it would.  
  
There were a few torches on the walls, lots of spider webs and dust everywhere. The room had a slight rotting smell, and Harry knew that someone fresh was in one of the two stone caskets that were up against the walls.  
  
"You live in here?" Harry asked, appalled.  
  
"No," she replied with a smile. "The rotting smell would probably make me sick if I stayed long enough. Oh, that smell, by the way, is just a spell to make people think twice about entering here."  
  
"So, where do you stay?" Remus asked, clearly desperate to get away from the horrible stench.  
  
Grinning mysteriously, Destiny said, "I'll show you." Walking to a casket, she glanced at them over her shoulder. "All is not as it appears." Reaching over, she shoved one of the stone lids out of the way.  
  
Stone steps appeared in the casket, going down under the ground.  
  
Smirking at their astonishment, she climbed in and started down the stairs, lighting her wand as she went. It was pitch black except for the small amount of light their wands threw off.  
  
Just when Harry thought they were never going reach the end of the stairs, they stepped onto solid ground. As soon their feet touched the floor, light appeared everywhere.  
  
"Welcome," Destiny whispered with a smile, "to The Sanctuary of the Necromancer."  
  
And indeed it was a perfect sanctuary.  
  
The stone floor was lined with a red carpet that stretched from one end of the hallway to the other. The corridor was lit with strange sphere shaped balls of light that floated in mid air. They didn't seem to be running on electricity, gas, or fire. They just were.  
  
Leading them past several doors, Destiny opened a door at the far end of the hallway.  
  
"Whoa." Sirius muttered in amazement when he saw the room.  
  
It was the most beautiful room any of them had ever seen.  
  
The floor was made of stone but had a large hand woven rug in the center. It was red- as the theme seemed to be based- and depicted a stone angel with its arms held up from its sides. It was a picture of a grave stone.  
  
'How apt,' Harry thought with a flicker of amusement.  
  
There were thousands of candles around the room- from the beautiful chandelier to the elaborate candle stick holders that were on the wall. There was a large antique bed with a canopy, a vanity, several other mirrors, a desk, and two amours.  
  
All in all, it looked like the room of a romantic setting. or a really rich, spoiled girl's bedroom.  
  
"You like?" Destiny asked, grinning at their expressions.  
  
"How did you find this place?" Sirius asked in awe.  
  
"It's my birth right. This is the place where Necromancers always went when they needed to escape from the real world. No one can enter this place without my consent and while I'm here, I can't be traced- by any spell. The crypt will appear in any cemetery that I wish it to, though I usually just leave it in the same place unless I move to a new country. Nobody will ever even know it wasn't originally there. Convenient or what?"  
  
"So, is this where you've been hiding?" Sirius asked after about a minute of silence.  
  
"I wasn't hiding."  
  
"Alright," Remus said, "enough of that. Now, what were you doing in the cemeteries?"  
  
"Calling for help." Seeing their confused looks, she said, "Would you like to come with me tonight? I'm calling someone I guarantee you know."  
  
"Sure!" Harry exclaimed, eager to be able to spend some time with her- even if she did live in a creepy tomb.  
  
Smiling at him with her usual happy- go- lucky smile, she said, "I'll be right back then."  
  
As soon as she was gone, Sirius exclaimed, "I want to leave! This place is giving me the heebie- geebies!"  
  
"Heebie- geebies?" Remus asked with a snort of laughter. "It's not that bad. It could be worse. She could be doing ritual animal sacrifices."  
  
Snickering silently, Harry put on a look of horror and shrieked, "There's a dead bunny on the bed!"  
  
"Where?" Sirius shouted, jumping up from where he had sat down on the bed.  
  
Harry immediately doubled over with laughter at Sirius' high- pitched scream.  
  
"Oh! You should have seen you faces! And that scream! You could break glass at that pitch!"  
  
That wasn't funny!" Remus exclaimed, massaging the ear that Sirius had screamed in.  
  
*****  
  
When Destiny walked in five minutes later, she sighed.  
  
'They're all like little kids!' she thought exasperated. "A-hem! What are you doing?"  
  
"Nothing!" Harry replied innocently.  
  
After giving him a suspicious look, she started to explain what would happen that night.  
  
"We're going to be traveling in a way I'm sure you've never even heard of. You are not- I repeat NOT- aloud to apparate where we are headed. Apparation can be detected and we must be gone before anyone even realizes we were there. We'll be traveling by the Ghost Roads."  
  
"The roads of the dead?" Remus asked with surprise- and a hint of fear. "I had assumed it was just a myth!"  
  
"A lot of things are more than myths, you know. Anyway, you must understand that while we are on the roads, I'm in charge. You ignore this rule, you'll wish you were dead. It's bad enough to become lost on the Ghost Roads when you're dead; it's horrific if you're alive. DON'T leave the roads for ANY reason. If someone wonders off, I'LL go get him. Stay close together, the spirits may try to pull you off-"  
  
"WHAT?" Sirius exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Um. The spirits will try to force you to help them escape and will pull you off with them if they can- and that can be fatal." Seeing their horrified faces, she snapped, "We'll hold hands. Happy?"  
  
"Extremely!" Sirius chirped.  
  
"Big baby," she muttered.  
  
"I am NOT! I just don't feel like being shredded by dead things today! Can you really blame me?"  
  
"Whatever." Tossing them the cloaks she had retrieved for them, she said, "Take these cloaks and let's go. Keep the hoods up. If we're seen, we don't want to be recognized."  
  
Concentrating hard on where she wanted to go, Destiny reached out her hand and slashed an opening in the air. She could see the shiver of fear that ran through her companions when they heard the lost wailing sound that came from the black rip in reality.  
  
"Well?" she said impatiently. "Let's move out!"  
  
Reaching up, she pulled her hood up so her face was lost in shadows and walked onto the Ghost Roads.  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to T B-klo, Vanessa, Star Girl, Enelfitay, and Roxy (Thank you!). 


	11. Walking With the Dead

Walking With the Dead  
  
Chapter 11  
  
After hearing the wailing that came through the hole that hung in the air, Harry was surprised to find that the Ghost Roads were nothing like he had imagined them to be.  
  
He'd imagined a windy place, full of rain and lightning. He'd imagined a war zone, full of pain and suffering. Looking around though, he saw nothing but a gray mist. Every once in a while, he saw a wispy shape that resembled a person but, mostly, there was. nothing. It was a depressing place that could make one lose all hope and quit trying. Looking down, he saw he was standing on a road that was five feet across and looked to go on forever. Even though his feet seemed to be touching the dusty ground, he couldn't feel it. He got the feeling that no matter how far he walked, the gray nothingness would never end.  
  
Grabbing Destiny's hand, so as not to get lost, he started to walk.  
  
"How long will we be here?" he whispered to her.  
  
"An hour, though it will seem like must longer."  
  
And indeed it did feel like hours. The scenery never changed and they never seemed to make much progress. Every few minutes Destiny would look around, muttering something in a language he couldn't understand- he assumed it was Latin. After one of these incidents, she stopped walking completely.  
  
"Why are we stopping?" Sirius asked curiously. "Are we there?"  
  
Shaking her head slowly, she glanced over her shoulder. "Something's wrong."  
  
"What!"  
  
"Shush!" Looking around again, she spoke her Latin phrase. After a moment's hesitation, a look of panic crossed over her face. "They're not listening!"  
  
"Who?" Remus asked quietly. "You seem to be speaking Latin but it sounds. wrong. I can't understand what you're saying-"  
  
"It's not Latin, it's ancient Egyptian and I was talking to the spirits."  
  
"What were-" Remus said before Destiny interrupted by shouting, "Stay away!" Grabbing their hands, she took off at a run.  
  
"Why are we running?" Harry asked worriedly as he jogged along next to her.  
  
"I'm getting to old for this!" Remus exclaimed right behind them.  
  
"Well you may not have to worry about your age much longer if we don't get out of here! The ghosts are closing in on the road. Move it!"  
  
Just as a slit of colored light came into view, Harry heard Remus let out a cry of fear and pain. Looking over his shoulder, he slid to a stop.  
  
"Professor Lupin!"  
  
Several ghosts were pulling him off the road as he struggled to escape. Looking over at Sirius, Harry saw him heading towards Remus.  
  
"No!" Destiny shouted at her father, running up and shoving him backwards. "Take Harry and get out of here!"  
  
"I'm not leaving him behind!"  
  
"Your first priority is your godson!"  
  
"I'm not leaving any of you behind!"  
  
"You promised! Take Harry and go! I'll be fine! This is the world to which I belong; they won't hurt me!"  
  
Turning away from them, she ran up to where the struggle was still going on and started shoving them aside. "Remus! Head towards the exit! Don't wait for me!" Directing her energy to keeping the spirits focused on her, she freed the werewolf enough to allow him to make a run for it. Not waiting for anything else, he ran to the exit, dragging Harry and Sirius with him.  
  
As they fell out of the whole in the air, Harry suddenly thought, 'Without Destiny, we have no way to open the Ghost Roads to help her!'  
  
Trying to untangle their limbs after the fall was quite an ordeal. The hole had been six feet in the air and they had all fallen into a pile. Climbing to his feet, he looked around. They were standing in a little cemetery not far from the city of Bristol and the entrance to the Ghost Roads was no where in sight.  
  
*****  
  
Looking around frantically for the fifteen year old girl, Remus began to panic. She was nowhere to be seen. He knew he shouldn't have left her but panic had set in and instinct had taken over, forcing him to run.  
  
'That's no excuse!' he berated himself. 'She's a child, you're an adult. You're the one who's supposed to protect her, not the other way around!'  
  
"Where is she?" Sirius asked as he glanced frantically around the cemetery.  
  
"I think she's still on the Ghost Roads," Remus whispered, horrified.  
  
Spinning around to face him, Sirius yelled, "This is your fault! We should have stayed and helped!"  
  
"We were in the way!"  
  
"We were not!"  
  
"Yes we were!"  
  
"Is that what you're going to tell yourself from now on as you lay flowers on her GRAVE!"  
  
Stepping back as if he'd been punched, Remus snarled angrily, "Those roads are a part of who she is. We don't belong there, that's why we were attacked! If she hadn't had to protect us, she wouldn't still be there-"  
  
"Stop it!" Harry yelled. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he began again. "She'll be fine. We know she's been on there before, so she'll be okay."  
  
'He doesn't believe that,' Remus thought. "Right, we'll just wait here for her."  
  
After about twenty minutes, they began to grow desperate.  
  
"She's dead! I know she is!" Sirius suddenly cried.  
  
Giving him a nasty look, Harry raised his head off of his hands. "What is with you tonight? You're constantly freaking out!"  
  
"I know. I'm just stressed, what with the Destiny dilemma and all. Sorry."  
  
"Ah!"  
  
Spinning around, Remus saw Destiny sprawled on the grass.  
  
"Destiny!" Sirius shouted. "You're alive!" Running over to her, he hugged her, lifting her clear off of the ground.  
  
"What the- put me down!" Destiny yelped, trying to wiggle away. "I can't breath!"  
  
"Oh," Sirius said sheepishly, "whoops." Setting her down, she looked like she'd just been through a tornado.  
  
"What happened?" Harry asked.  
  
"Got into a bit of a fight, scared them. Not much really."  
  
"What took so long then?"  
  
"I was recruiting. Sorry to worry you." Clasping her hands together, she gave them a mischievous grin and exclaimed, "All right, Crickey! Let's get this show on the road!"  
  
"Crickey?" Sirius whispered to Remus.  
  
"Muggle movie reference," Harry answered. "Don't worry about it." Turing, Harry hurried after Destiny.  
  
When Remus and Sirius caught up with them, Destiny was pouring a circle of salt and setting white candles on the ground.  
  
Turning to face them, she asked, "Are you ready? Good. Put your hoods back on and keep them up. If anyone shows up, you two-" Pointing to Sirius and Remus, she continued, "apparate out of here. I'll take Harry with me onto the Ghost Roads. Also, by this, I mean ANYONE. No hesitation, just go back to the school and I'll get Harry back safely. Alrighty then, you three stand over there next to that tree and watch. I'll let you talk to the people if I can get them onto my side. Don't talk until I say you can." Stepping into the circle, she folded her hands into her sleeves and mist began to rise. Raising her arms, she brought them together in front of her. Lightning struck and the ground began to bubble with blood.  
  
*****  
  
Sirius Black watched as his only child made blood bubble up from the earth. 'Every time I see her, she does something to freak me out!' he thought. No matter what he said to anybody else, he had to admit he was happy she existed. He was also very proud that even with her awful upbringing, she had still managed to end up sweet and pure. He was grateful that she was the type of person who would put others before herself and made sure that her selfish impulses helped others. He was very glad that he had the privilege of being able to know her.  
  
'I swear that I'll find a way to get free and give you and Harry a good home. I will NOT let either of you return to a place where you are unloved!'  
  
Turning his attention back to the ceremony, he saw that Destiny was muttering quietly and making runic symbols with her hand, in the air.  
  
"What is she doing?" Sirius whispered to Remus.  
  
"She's attempting to get a soul from this graveyard to come forth and make a bargain with her."  
  
"Will she be able to?"  
  
Shrugging, Remus turned his attention back to what was happening before him.  
  
The wind began to blow harder, spraying Destiny with the blood.  
  
"I conjure thee!" Destiny yelled in conclusion, completely oblivious to the wind and blood.  
  
The wind immediately froze. Not a leaf twitched. The flame of the candles shot up so high they completely obscured the Necromancer from their line of vision. When the flames went down, everything returned to normal. Night sounds could be heard and the cemetery resumed its December wind. The only thing out of the ordinary was that there was a second person standing in the circle. and they were transparent.  
  
*****  
  
Remus could only stare at the spirit before him. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish several times while trying to comprehend what he was seeing. 'I should have known. I should have realized where we were! Why didn't I see?'  
  
The spirit before him was beautiful. She had long brown hair with fluffy bangs and large brown eyes.  
  
It was the one person he'd never thought to see again, his beloved wife Katherine.  
  
*****  
  
'No. It can't be,' Sirius thought numbly.  
  
But it was. It was Katherine Carrillo Lupin, Remus' dead wife.  
  
His mind numbly replayed Destiny's words: 'I'm calling someone you all know.'  
  
'Well, we definitely knew her alright.'  
  
With a start, he realized that Kat was speaking.  
  
*****  
  
Destiny felt slightly bad for not telling them who she was conjuring. but not bad enough to stop. She needed Katherine Carrillo Lupin to give her the information she needed to find the Potters. She had tried repeatedly, for days, to call them with absolutely no luck. She'd asked for all of the spirits that she had conjured to be on the look out for them. Maybe an old friend of there's would know.  
  
"Hello Katherine. How are you today?"  
  
With a bitter smile, she spoke. "I'm dead, that should pretty much explain it all."  
  
Immediately deciding she liked this slightly sarcastic girl, Destiny continued, "Do you know who I am?"  
  
"All spirits know of you. You are the one who will stop all the unnecessary deaths. the one who will set the victims free so that we will no longer have to wonder the roads of the dead for all of eternity. So that we will no longer be the lost ones. You're the Necromancer."  
  
Nodding, Destiny said, "But there is more. Do you know?"  
  
"I know. You are the child the Potters take care of."  
  
'Bingo!' she thought.  
  
"You're Sirius Black's daughter." Pausing for a moment, she seemed to be considering something. "They talk about you a lot. Almost as much as they do Harry. Lily's already decided you're to marry Harry. She's got the wedding all planned out."  
  
Shifting uncomfortably, Destiny murmured, "I know." Clearing her throat, she quickly changed the subject. "I've called you forth to ask you to join me in the fight against Voldemort. What do you say? Become a spy and help; have the chance to move on, or. remain on those gray roads for all eternity?"  
  
"You do not have to threaten me. I'll help you." Pausing, she looked over Destiny's shoulder. "May I speak with them?"  
  
Nodding, Destiny stepped aside so Katherine could speak to her living friends.  
  
*****  
  
When Destiny stepped aside, Remus almost fainted.  
  
"Kat?" Remus whispered in disbelief.  
  
"Hello Remus. How have you been?"  
  
"I've missed you so much." Remus whispered, blinking back tears.  
  
Giving him a hard look, she stated, "You've spent all this time torturing yourself over my death. You never moved on."  
  
"How could I?"  
  
Giving him a sad look, she replied, "By finding another to love. It's bad enough to be trapped on earth without the knowledge that you're destroying yourself. Please. just let me go. Set us both free from the suffering. You don't have to feel guilty about it, just try."  
  
"I don't want to! I want to be with you-"  
  
"No!" she said looking horrified. "It's not your time. Besides, everyday above ground is a special day. Make the most of it. You'll never know how special life is until you no longer have it."  
  
"Um. Kat?" Sirius said quietly. "How's Lily and James?"  
  
Looking surprised, Katherine turned to him. "Didn't Destiny tell you?"  
  
"Tell me what?"  
  
"That they practically raised her? They just recently left so she could do her job by instinct rather than by orders."  
  
"No," Sirius said, giving Destiny a nasty look, "she forgot to mention it."  
  
"Speaking of which," Destiny said suddenly, "have you seen them lately?"  
  
Giving her a sly smile, Katherine replied with, "Set me free and I'll help you."  
  
Destiny laughed. "A marauder 'til the end! Alright, free you are!"  
  
Reaching for her hand, Destiny cut the salt circle and stepped out with the spirit. Katherine immediately vanished. Turning back to the circle, Destiny banished the blood and collected her things. Using a wind charm, she blew all the salt away so that the only evidence of the night was the mark on the ground where the lightning had struck.  
  
Turning to where the ghost hovered next to Remus, she asked, "Would you-"  
  
"Well now, what have we here?"  
  
Keeping her back to the voice, Destiny whispered to Remus and Sirius, "Go! Apparate! It will draw the attention of the Ministry! Kat, go get Lily and James and please HURRY!" Drawing herself up to her full height, she turned to face Voldemort. "What do YOU want?" she asked disdainfully. Under her breath- and thanking God that she'd worn a hood that hid her face- she whispered to Harry, "When I open the Ghost Roads, run for it. Just keep walking until you reach the light at the other end."  
  
"Ah, the little Necromancer. I'm here for the answer you promised me. What do you say? Live and be powerful by my side, or. die screaming."  
  
"Oh! I'll take screaming for three hundred, please!"  
  
Hearing the popping sound of apparation, she quickly made the slash with the magic that danced at her fingertips and moved to allow Harry a way to escape. Without hesitation, Harry threw himself through the hole. With a wave of her hand, the entrance vanished.  
  
"Now, where were we? Oh yes, I remember."  
  
Giving a growl of annoyance, Voldemort hissed, "Kill her!" With that, he apparated away.  
  
As the Death Eaters closed in around her, she couldn't help but think of how much she was going to enjoy making the pain they had inflicted on their victims come back to haunt them.  
  
*****  
  
As Harry fell through the hole onto the Ghost Roads, the wind got knocked out of him.  
  
"Ouch!" he gasped in pain. Quickly climbing to his feet, he started off in the direction of Godric Hollow Cemetery. After walking for what seemed like forever, Harry checked his watch. An hour and a half had passed. He was lost. Trying desperately not to panic, Harry looked around himself.  
  
'I wonder if I can get one of those ghosts to help me.' As he was stepping towards the edge of the gray road, he froze. 'What am I doing? She said, no matter what, stay on the road!' Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he decided to head back in the direction he had come.  
  
Turning around, he froze.  
  
"Mum?"  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to T B-klo, shayomac, nycgal, Dezzy 2002, Azalai (oh, I'm blushing! I so agree! Cassandra Claire's the BEST!), Seduceastranger, erieka127, Nicanole-15, and susie.  
  
** ncygal: Sirius acts more like a brother than a father does because he's never had the chance to be a parent. Even though he treats Harry like a son, it's because he knows Harry. He doesn't really know Destiny yet. He also doesn't know how to treat a girl because, well, he's not one. ** 


	12. Being Shown the Way

Being Shown the Way  
  
Chapter 12  
  
"Mum?"  
  
Harry's vision grayed slightly and he stumbled backwards in shock. When his vision cleared, he took a closer look at the spirit before him. Though she was still transparent, she was more solid than any other ghost he had seen here. Lily Potter had long straight red hair that seemed to shine even in this world of gloom and shadows. Her green eyes sparkled at him even though her expression was somber. She was wearing a long white dress that he assumed was the nightdress she had died in and was barefooted.  
  
Blinking a few times to make sure she was real, he whispered again, "Mum."  
  
Smiling sweetly at him, she answered in a misty, far away voice, "Harry. You're going the wrong way. Come with me. I'll protect you, I'll lead you home."  
  
As she turned away, Harry called out to her. "Wait! I need to get Destiny! I need to at least go to her cemetery place and make sure she's alright!"  
  
She just smiled at him.  
  
"I didn't mean your home, I meant mine: Godric Hollow Cemetery. We will wait for her there. Come on now, your father will wonder where we've gotten to."  
  
Reaching out, she took his hand in hers. Surprisingly, it was completely solid to him, even though it remained transparent.  
  
"You're solid. But I thought-"  
  
Laughing at her son's still apparent shock, Lily said, "Things are not always as they appear on the Ghost Roads. This is the world of mist. I belong here; you do not. I am as solid here as I was in life; that's why it's so dangerous for you to be here. The ghost can fight back; whereas they can't on earth."  
  
With that, Lily began to walk with Harry down the road. Giving a happy smile, Harry walked along the road at his mother's side.  
  
*****  
  
"Where are they?" Sirius exclaimed impatiently.  
  
"Calm down Sirius. I'm sure they're fine," Dumbledore said soothingly.  
  
"Bull crap they are!"  
  
"Sirius," Remus hissed, "shut up! You're making us even more nervous than we need to be. And if you don't stop pacing, you're going to go through the floor!"  
  
"I can't help it!" Flopping bonelessly into a chair, he let his head drop into his hands. Shoving his hair violently out of his eyes, he jumped back to his feet. "That's it! I'm going back to that cemetery!"  
  
Quickly moving to block the doorway, Remus said determinedly, "You can't. You heard what Destiny said before. She had us apparate specifically so that the Ministry would come to the scene. You're showing up there would only get you arrested and sent back to Azkaban!"  
  
"I was going to apparate a mile or so away and then spy on them as Padfoot. Good plan?"  
  
Reluctantly Remus agreed, seeing that he was never going to get anything better out of him. Seeing Sirius' satisfied look, he hastily added, "Just be careful!"  
  
"Aren't I always?"  
  
At the snort of disbelief from the rooms other two occupants, he smiled, changed into a large grim- like dog and ran out the door.  
  
*****  
  
At the cemetery, Destiny was having the time of her life. She rarely ever got to use the full force of her powers and it felt great to be able to without fear. She threw another spell at a Death Eater- not even attempting to hit him, just wanting to wear them down- that would separate his soul from his body for a few seconds. That all changed though when one of the Death Eaters managed to hit her with the Cruciatus curse. Gritting her teeth, she squeezed her eyes together and refused to scream. When the searing pain had been reduced to a dull ache, she was surprised to find she was still on her feet.  
  
"Ow!" she shrieked. "That so did NOT feel good!" Glancing over their shoulders, she smirked cruelly at what she saw. "Your turn!" Raising her hands, she let a blast of power out. When nothing appeared to have happened, the Death Eaters chuckled menacingly.  
  
"What's the matter, honey? I thought you were supposed to be amazingly powerful!"  
  
Giving them the charming smile that only a Black could give, she spoke the words she knew would haunt them until the day they died: "Behind you."  
  
She could practically see the fear coming off of them when they saw what was behind them. Twenty ghosts had assembled to fight for her. Twenty ghosts that had died at the Dark Sides hands, and leading them was none other than James Potter.  
  
*****  
  
Being dead was hard.  
  
To be able to see your loved ones but not be able to touch them; to let them know that you were there. It was even worse after you'd given your life for that person, only to be forced to watch them suffer. It hurt terribly to watch a close friend be sent to Azkaban for crimes he hadn't committed. for being the cause of your death.  
  
James knew what all of this felt like.  
  
After he had died, he and his wife had followed some of their friends around with nothing better to do. It had been with a mixture of joy and sadness that the Potter's had seen Destiny Black be born. Joy that she existed and sadness that she would never know her father.  
  
Destiny had screamed non-stop for hours after she had been born- nobody could make her stop. Out of pure frustration, Lily had told the child to hush. The amazing thing was, she had been silenced instantly. Within a week, they had realized that she could see them. Her large, curious eyes would follow them everywhere and it was at this time that they had started to form the perfect plan. Lily and James had decided then and there that the only way they could even begin to make amends to Sirius was by teaching Destiny everything that he would have wanted her to know.  
  
At the beginning, one of them would always stay with Destiny while the other followed their son Harry. They had continued in this manner until Harry had gone to Hogwarts. By then, they were trying to advance the girl in the art of magic as quickly as possible. They had to set Sirius Black free.  
  
When Harry had set off to Hogwarts, Destiny had been nine and they made their first- and last- attempt to break into Azkaban. They had made it all the way through the Ghost Roads and onto the island that held the infamous prison before the Necromancer had begun to panic. She had felt the terrible sadness and agony that surrounded the place and it had appalled her. While she was technically an evil creature, Destiny had something that was rare to any race: empathy; she could feel others pain.  
  
They had never tried it again.  
  
Over the past six months, the Potter's had gradually started to move away from her, hoping that she would start to take an interest in the world of the living. She hadn't and as much as it had hurt them, they knew that she never would if they were around. So they'd left. Standing before the Death Eaters though, James realized that no matter what he or Lily did, Destiny would never change. She would always be the girl who preferred the dead to the living, the night to the day. And for the first time, he was okay with that. It wasn't his fault he realized; it was just who she was.  
  
Smiling amusedly at the masked figures, he lazily raised his eyebrow. "You want to see the power of a Necromancer? Then you have to realize that her power is in being able to control the dead."  
  
One cue, Destiny whispered dangerously, "Get them."  
  
And then, all hell broke loose.  
  
*****  
  
After apparating down the street from the cemetery, Sirius turned and ran as fast as his four furry legs would carry him. He could hear the sounds of fighting and was praying it was the Aurors fighting off the Death Eaters and not his daughter and godson fighting for their lives.  
  
Looking through the poles on the gate, Sirius froze. 'What the.'  
  
The Death Eaters were going for their wands or trying to run away as transparent figures attacked them. And at the edge of the fray, Destiny stood as calm as can be with a small smile on her face. The ghost that stood next to her though, is what caused him to freeze.  
  
'James.'  
  
Hearing popping noises, he quickly glanced over is shoulder. Aurors were appearing all over the street.  
  
He obviously wasn't the only one who'd heard them, for Destiny immediately lowered her arms and let the ghosts vanished after giving them her nod of thanks. Glaring at the Death Eaters, she hissed, "I'll see you again." Turning, she ran to the back of a mausoleum and disappeared.  
  
Knowing he could do nothing to help, he ran off so he could apparate back to Hogwarts. He'd just have to wait there.  
  
*****  
  
At the Godric Hollow Cemetery, Harry waited for Destiny to arrive.  
  
Though he appeared to be alone, Harry knew that both his mother and Katherine- who had joined them along the way- were both standing next to him. He knew they were there because his hair kept being pushed comfortingly off of his forehead and he had the feeling of butterfly wings against his cheek- something he would usually put down as wind.  
  
"Mum?" Realizing she couldn't answer him, he kept talking. "Is she okay? Don't lie. Um. Poke me if the answer is yes- OW!" he exclaimed when he got a really hard jab in the shoulder. "That hurt!" Feeling his hair being rumpled, he jumped away. "Hey, my hairs bad enough!" Hearing giggles from behind a nearby stone angel; he called out, "Who's there?"  
  
"Who the heck are you talking to, Mr. Harry?" Destiny asked as she stepped out from behind the head stone, still giggling.  
  
"Mr. Harry?" he asked, grinning.  
  
"Yup! So how did you fare all by your lonesome?"  
  
"Um. I-"  
  
"He got lost."  
  
Spinning around, he saw mother leaning against the edge of the crypt.  
  
"Well that's to be expected. I mean, he IS a guy! They never can stop and ask for directions."  
  
"Hey now!" Harry's eyes widened when he saw his father appear beside his mother. "No dissing my gender!"  
  
"Dissing!" Destiny shrieked with laughter. "Where did you get 'dissing' from?"  
  
".You."  
  
"I do NOT talk like that!"  
  
"Anyways-"  
  
"Any-hoo," Lily muttered.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, jumping in to the conversation.  
  
"Any-hoo!" Destiny crowed loudly.  
  
"What is with you and that word!"  
  
"I dunno. I heard it on TV. I think." Becoming more serious, she said, "We need to get you back to Hogwarts. My father was worried about you. He showed up as Padfoot right at the end of the fight."  
  
"Come back with me," Harry pleaded, reaching out to take her hands.  
  
Gripping his hands tightly in hers, she whispered, "Soon. Until then though, Lily or James will always be there with you. You won't be able to see or feel either of them like you can here, but if you need help; they'll come get me. Come on." Pulling on his hand, she picked up the portkey he had used to travel to the cemetery in the first place and handed it to him. "Goodbye Harry. I'll see you soon," she murmured mostly to herself.  
  
With a deep breath of the night air that was tinged with the promise of dawn, she moved back into her 'home'.  
  
*****  
  
Landing with a jolt, Harry looked up just in time to see the sun rising above the mountain. Sighing sadly that Destiny was not there to share it, he started the long trek up to the castle.  
  
'Soon,' he thought. 'She'll be back soon.'  
  
*****  
  
As the end of term drew closer, excitement filled the air. The Yule Ball was once again going to be held at the school making more than the usual amount of people want stay for the holidays.  
  
Harry though, was not thrilled at the prospect of having to go to the dance- and having people giggle and point at him while they searched for a date. To him, it was just an annoyance. As soon as McGonagall had announced it, all of the girls had started giggling and quite a few had looked in his direction. When the bell rang, Harry had jumped out of his seat and had made a run for the door immediately.  
  
"Harry wait!" Hermione called after him.  
  
Slowing down until his friends caught up, Ron asked the question he hadn't wanted to hear: "Who are you going to ask to the ball?"  
  
"I don't know-"  
  
"You know, you shouldn't wait for Destiny to come back. Soon to her could mean three months."  
  
Giving Ron a nasty look, Hermione said gently, "Harry, just ignore him."  
  
Smiling nastily at Ron, Harry replied mockingly, "Don't I always?"  
  
*****  
  
"Destiny?" James called as he moved through the house beneath the mausoleum. "Where are you?" Turning the corner, he screamed. "My eyes, my eyes!" Putting his hand over his them, he let out another shriek.  
  
"Oh, grow up! I have a towel on!" Destiny exclaimed.  
  
"Scarred for life! Ewwy!" Giving an exasperated sigh, she shoved past him. Dropping his hand, he hurried after her. "Where are you going?"  
  
"Well, I don't know about you, but I LIKE wearing clothes."  
  
"How did you manage to get running water?"  
  
Waving her fingers around in front of herself, she whispered mysteriously, "Magic." Giggling she said in mock sternness, "Stay." When she returned dressed in jeans and a sweater, she asked curiously, "Any reason why you felt the need to come find me while I was in a towel?"  
  
Bluntly, he asked, "Are you going back to Hogwarts soon?"  
  
"Maybe after New Years."  
  
"Hogwarts is having a ball."  
  
"So?"  
  
"You could dance with Harry."  
  
She gave him her most annoyed look. "Do you ever think of anything else?"  
  
Giving her an innocent look, he said, "We just want you to be happy." Dropping the so- very- fake look, he continued teasingly, "Oh, you know you want him!"  
  
"James!" Destiny squealed in mock horror, "That's your son you're talking about!"  
  
"You're right! Bad me!" Continuing, he said, "In all seriousness though, you really ought to tell Harry how you feel."  
  
"And if he doesn't feel the same way?"  
  
"Then at least you've tried. But if you don't try, you'll always regret it. So?."  
  
"I'll think about it."  
  
*****  
  
".the goblin rebellion of 1398 was by far the."  
  
Sitting in History of Magic class with Professor Binns could only be described as a cruel and unusual punishment. The Gryffindors had only been in class for fifteen minutes and already Hermione was the only one paying attention. Harry was just staring out the window trying not to think about the next day.  
  
Tomorrow was the Yule Ball and he still didn't have a date.  
  
It wasn't the dateless-ness that bothered him, but rather the fact that he knew he would be having no fun while everyone else was.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione hissed, jabbing him with her quill. "Pay attention!"  
  
"Sorry," he murmured before turning back to his window.  
  
Shaking her head, she turned to her other side to wake up Ron.  
  
Already awake- and having seen what had happened- he whispered to her, "We need to send that girl a howler!"  
  
Nodding her agreement, she whispered, "Yeah. Now take some notes! You're not copying mine!"  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to icicle soul, Nicanole-15, Kiriko Himura, Phoenix Silverwind, T B-klo, Shayomac, Sarah Teer, Booger and Co, Gabriella, Enelfitay, and Sarah Black. Thanks, you guys are the best! 


	13. The Dance

The Dance  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Looking carefully in the mirror, Destiny wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue at her reflection.  
  
"Beautiful," Lily whispered.  
  
"I guess."  
  
"You'll be the Belle of the ball," James said softly, giving her a gentle smile.  
  
"We'll see. We'll see."  
  
*****  
  
In the boys' dorm, Harry was trying to calm a panicked Ron down enough to show him how to knot his tie.  
  
"Ron! Calm down! It's just Hermione!"  
  
"But it's not! This is a date! It's different!"  
  
"No, it's not. It'll still be Hermione- the same bossy, know- it- all Hermione who won't let us copy her notes or homework."  
  
"You're right," Ron said taking a calming breath. "I'm calm."  
  
"Good," Harry replied. "Now hold still and let me tie that!"  
  
*****  
  
Waiting in the common room for Hermione, Harry sighed. His dress robes were made out of a heavy winter material and were way to hot to be worn in doors. They were a dark green with a black interior and fell perfectly on his lithe six foot frame.  
  
'Not that it matters if I'm sweating; I don't have a date.'  
  
He had originally decided to go without a date and to just hangout with other people, but now he was starting to regret his choice. He was positive that as soon as Hermione came down those stairs, Ron would completely forget about him.  
  
And indeed he did.  
  
'Not that I blame him,' Harry thought with awe.  
  
Hermione was dressed in the lightest of silver. Her dress was floor length with a low cut back and a front that went all the way up and snapped behind her neck. Her hair- like in fourth year- had been straightened and seemed to shine. She had done her make-up so that while light, could still be seen. She looked great and her dress would match Ron's navy blue robes perfectly.  
  
"Wow," Ron breathed.  
  
Noticing with a smirk that Ron seemed to be temporarily stunned into silence, he stepped forward and said, "You look great, Hermione!"  
  
"Thanks!" she replied, grinning. "You don't look so bad yourself. Ron?"  
  
"You pretty very! I mean- you look very pretty."  
  
Snorting at his friends loss of speech, Harry stated, "We need to go or we'll be late."  
  
At the entrance to the Great Hall, people were meeting their dates and exclaiming over dresses, while the boys' complained about how uncomfortable their suits were. After entering the Hall, Harry looked around. Christmas trees had been set up all around the room. The long house tables had been removed; in their place were little round tables and a space had been left in the center of the room for dancing. Little fairies were twinkling around the room; landing in people's hair and making everything shine. The most spectacular thing was the light snowfall that was coming from the ceiling- which was not only warm but also not sticking anywhere.  
  
"Hermione, would you like to dance?" Ron asked, drawing Harry out of his thoughts.  
  
"I'd love to." Turning to Harry, she asked, "You don't mind do you Harry?"  
  
"No-"Smiling, they hurried off. "I'll just go stand by myself somewhere."  
  
Thirty minutes later, Harry was still sitting alone at the table he had chosen. Girls had come up to ask him to dance- especially the younger years- but Harry just didn't want to embarrass himself with them.  
  
Shifting uncomfortably, Harry sighed with relief when he saw his friends approaching him.  
  
'Finally,' he thought.  
  
"Hey there, Harry. You been having fun?" Ron asked with a stupid grin on his face.  
  
"Yeah," he said sarcastically, "loads."  
  
*****  
  
Stepping cautiously off the Ghost Roads, Destiny shook her hair off her shoulders and started towards the school.  
  
"Someday my prince will come." she sang softly to herself as she strolled up to Hogwarts. Smiling charmingly, she opened the door and entered the ball.  
  
*****  
  
"Wow!"  
  
Looking over at Ron from where he had been staring at the wall, Harry raised his eyebrows at him. When a sudden hush fell over the crowd, Harry followed everyone's gaze.  
  
"Destiny." Harry whispered in awe.  
  
Standing before him was a girl that could easily be mistaken as a goddess. Everything about her seemed to shine, from her dress, to her hair, to her very eyes. She was a vision. She wore a thigh length dress that had a shear piece of material that swirled around to her feet except in the front where it opened to an upside down V. It was the lightest of blues- a topaz that accented her eyes perfectly. She had let her hair out of the usual up do' and it swirled around her in perfect ringlet curls that fell to her waist. Some of it had been piled up with flowers, leaving little curls to frame her face. The glitter in her hair had been spread to her arms and face, giving her the illusion of being an angel.  
  
Looking around, she caught sight of him, smiled dazzlingly, and started in his direction. Nobody made a sound.  
  
"Hello Harry," she said in her American accent. "Ron, Hermione, how have you been?"  
  
"You're gorgeous!" Harry exclaimed. Giving himself a mental kick, he immediately realized how Ron had felt.  
  
As Destiny started to giggle, he opened his eyes. Shifting nervously, he looked around himself trying to feel more grounded. He was immensely relieved to see that people had gone back to minding their own business with only the occasional glance in their direction.  
  
"Harry?" Destiny asked worriedly. "Are you okay? You're just kind of standing there."  
  
Smiling, he said, "I'm fine. I'm great!" Reaching out, he took her little hand in his and asked her to dance.  
  
Nodding her acceptance, she admitted quietly, "I'm a horrible dancer. I'll be stepping all over your toes."  
  
"Good," he said decisively, "We can embarrass ourselves and spend time in the hospital wing together!"  
  
Laughing good naturedly, she tightened her grip on his hand and allowed herself to be pulled onto the dance floor.  
  
"So how do you Brits usually go about this?" she asked curiously.  
  
"I have no idea!" he admitted with a snort. "How do Americans dance?"  
  
Smiling, she started bouncing up and down, moving her body around provocatively while raising her arms in the air. "Like this!"  
  
Harry's eyes widened when he saw the slinky moves. As the song ended and the music suddenly changed, he breathed a sigh of relief. 'Thank you God!' Hearing the slow tune, he stepped forwards and pulled her into his arms, resting his head on top of hers.  
  
*****  
  
Feeling Harry's arms wrap around her waist, she tightened her grip on his neck, moving closer. When he rested his head on top of hers, she laid hers on his shoulder and allowed her eyes to drift shut. When they opened again, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Lily jumping up and down while grabbing James' shoulders.  
  
'She must be ecstatic. She's been pushing this for so long.'  
  
Stirring a little, Destiny murmured to Harry, "Where's your date?"  
  
"I don't have one; I was hoping you would show up. If you didn't, there's no one else I wanted to be here with."  
  
Feeling a fluttering sensation in her stomach, she whispered, "And here I am. Why do you keep doing that?"  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"Waiting for me?"  
  
"Because-"  
  
"I have to ask you something," she interrupted. Gently Destiny pulled away from him.  
  
"What is it?" Harry asked concerned.  
  
"You do realize that I am completely screwed up right? I mean, my life- my entire world- will never be normal."  
  
"Neither will mine. I've got a psychotic freak trying to kill me all the time!"  
  
Shaking her head sadly, she said earnestly, "But sooner or later Voldemort will be defeated and you'll be able to have the life you deserve. a normal life with friends and a family. I'll never have that. I'll always be different; I'll always be on the run. No matter how hard I try, I'll never be equal."  
  
"Isn't that what you were trying to change with your bargain with Dumbledore?"  
  
Looking down at her feet with a blank look, she whispered almost to herself, "Do you honestly think I'm stupid enough to believe in equality? It won't happen, there's no such thing. I'm campaigning for Dark Creatures to be able to hold real jobs. Nothing more, nothing less. But. I've learned you have to think big to be able to achieve even the minimum of results. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You're free to walk away now. Before it gets anymore complicated, no hard feelings."  
  
"No." Shaking his head, he added, "Now it's my turn to ask some questions. Why are you so insecure? Do you really believe that nobody has the brains to look past a branded title to see the real person?"  
  
"That's the way it's always been for me. Why should now be any different?"  
  
"Because I'm not everyone else."  
  
She knew an amazed look must be passing over her face but she didn't care- not anymore. For the first time she realized that he truly was going to accept her the way she was. What better a person could there ever be?"  
  
Smiling happily, she leaned up against him, listened to the music and just enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her. She knew that in a few minutes she would have to return to the real world where loneliness and pain were her very existence. For the moment though, all that mattered was being in Harry's arms.  
  
As the song drew to a close, neither of them moved. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, "Would you like to take a walk with me around the lake?"  
  
"I'd love to," she answered with all sincerity.  
  
Taking her hand, he led her through the crowd and out of the school. Walking down the stairs, past bushes with sparkling fairies, and the light snowfall coming down, it was perfect.  
  
"Are you alright?" Harry asked concerned.  
  
"Perfect. Why do you ask?"  
  
Chuckling softly, Harry said softly, "You're shaking."  
  
"I'm a little cold is all. You know, what with this stupid dress and all."  
  
"I like your dress." Harry smiled, stepping closer and wrapping an arm around her.  
  
"I suddenly do too!" she said pressing closer to him.  
  
As they approached the lake, she sighed. There was a crescent moon in the sky and it glistened on the lake. Walking over to a rock by the water, she carefully lowered herself down. Squeezing Harry's hand, she pointed to the sky.  
  
"That's Sirius, the Dog Star. Very appropriate, huh?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"And there's Orion's Belt, which is part of a constellation. And that's Andromeda."  
  
"Do you know all their names?"  
  
"Yeah. When I was little, I used to spend hours just gazing up at them. They were so peaceful. No matter what happened below them, you could always count on them to keep right on shining. They were a total constancy of my life... I've never had many of those. Tell me something about yourself."  
  
"Well." Thinking for a while, Harry finally told her about his love for Quidditch and flying. ".I always feel so free. Like nothing can hurt me while I'm up there. You missed the game against Hufflepuff."  
  
"I know. I'm sorry."  
  
"You still have the spot if you still wish to play."  
  
Giving a shriek of happiness, she threw her arms around him and hugged him close. "Thank you!" Drawing back, she froze mere inches away.  
  
"You have the most beautiful eyes," Harry murmured, reaching out and cupping her check in his hand. "I've never seen that color before."  
  
"Yeah." Destiny whispered scooting closer to him. "Creepy."  
  
"No, just unique."  
  
Leaning down, Harry brushed his lips against hers. Looking into his eyes for a moment, she let her eyes flutter shut and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his lips to hers for her first real kiss.  
  
  
  
Thanks to Vanessa, Shayomac, omi-sakura c.low, Sarah Black, Darclord222, Phoenix Silverwind (NOOOO! I want the new book now!), Katie Weasley, Mina, and Mary Fatestraik. Thanks! 


	14. Discussing the Inevitable

Discussing the Inevitable  
  
Chapter 14  
  
Harry had been kissed before. Several times in fact. While he was with Cho Chang and also during games, but never like this. Destiny was, without a doubt, the best person he'd ever kissed. She wasn't one of those people who slobbered on you so much you could actually choke, but she also wasn't the annoying pursed lipped kisser either. She was perfect.  
  
Drawing back from the kiss, he carefully brushed her hair behind her ear. Leaning in to kiss her again, he had just placed his lips on hers when a flash of blinding light went off. As Destiny let out a little shriek, they both spun around.  
  
"Colin!" Harry yelped. "What do you think you're doing?"  
  
Stepping back nervously, Colin Creevey stuttered, "R-Ron gave me a galleon to follow you and get a picture if you kissed her!" Turning around, he sprinted for the safety of the school. Harry was jumping up to chase him when he felt Destiny's soft hand on his arm.  
  
"Let him go. It's not a big deal. We were only kissing."  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Smiling teasingly, he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Speaking of kisses, that was great. We should try it again."  
  
"Yeah, I know I'm wonderful; nobody can resist me," Destiny replied in a snobbish voice, sticking her nose in the air.  
  
Laughing, Harry asked seriously, "So. what does this mean?"  
  
"Well. I know what I want it to mean."  
  
"I want it to mean something too."  
  
"All right!" Destiny shrieked, jumping up and throwing her hands into the air. "I have my first boyfriend AND I'm still a teenager!"  
  
"What?" he asked amused.  
  
"Well, I always figured I'd be fifty before I ever had a boyfriend- if ever."  
  
Smiling, he grabbed her hand and started towards the school.  
  
"They're going to crown the King and Queen soon. Maybe you'll win."  
  
Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she exclaimed disgustedly, "I don't want some stupid piece of metal scrap on my head!"  
  
"Okay, okay!"  
  
Walking slowly into the Great Hall, Harry left to find his friends while Destiny went in search of Draco.  
  
"Draco!" she yelled when she finally saw him. Running up, she hugged him from behind. "Hi!"  
  
Jumping in surprise, Draco turned around. "Hello," he muttered, shoving the hair out of his eyes with his knuckles. "I saw your grand entrance. That was really something."  
  
Snorting loudly, Destiny grimaced. "That wasn't my intention!" Pausing hesitantly, she said suddenly very serious, "I need to talk with you. Alone."  
  
Nodding, Draco excused himself from the scowling Slytherins and followed her to a quiet corner.  
  
"Where did you go?" Draco hissed.  
  
"Away. That's not the point. What's been going on?"  
  
"With what?"  
  
"Death Eater activity; when are they going to initiate you?"  
  
Shifting nervously, he whispered, "Next week, on the first day of the new year."  
  
"Oh, God help you," she muttered sadly.  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"Me? I'm not working for him; I refuse to even pretend. Will you become a spy?"  
  
"For you?"  
  
Nodding, she pleaded, "For me."  
  
Looking at his feet, he whispered, "For you, anything."  
  
"I'll send some of my ghosts with you. They'll be there with you the entire time. Even if you can't see them, you'll be able to feel them." Smiling slightly, Draco turned to go. "Draco? I'm going to train Harry to be a Mage. Would you like to learn too? It may help you survive one day."  
  
"With Potter?" he asked, disgusted.  
  
"Yes," she replied simply.  
  
Sighing with defeat, he finally agreed. "But I refuse to be his friend!"  
  
"Wouldn't dream of it. See you tomorrow at the Quidditch pitch. I'll show you where we'll be meeting."  
  
Inclining his head in her direction, he turned and headed back to his group of friends. When he reached them, they immediately started to question him. He just waved away their questions.  
  
Destiny was so absorbed in watching him; she didn't even hear when Harry approached.  
  
"Destiny?"  
  
"Ah!" she shrieked. Blushing at her outburst, she squeaked, "I'm fine! I'm good! What did you need?"  
  
"I was going to tell you that they were going to announce the King and Queen soon. Don't you want to watch?"  
  
"Uh. Sure. Who's up for the running?"  
  
"Hannah Abbott, Parvati, Hermione, and you were added after you showed up."  
  
"NO!" she moaned, slapping her hand to her forehead. "I don't WANT it!"  
  
"Relax. It could be worse."  
  
"How? How could this possibly get any worse?"  
  
"Well. You could be forced to dance the hula naked when you get up there."  
  
Raising her eyebrows, she shook her head in mock sadness.  
  
"Why me?"  
  
Before he could answer, Dumbledore stood up and called for attention.  
  
"Good evening! I know you're all eager to know the results of our little contest. But first, how are you all enjoying being muggles for a night?" Loud cheering filled the room until the Headmaster motioned for silence. "Good, good! Now, can all of our candidates please join me here at the front?"  
  
Grabbing Destiny's hand, Harry started to pull her towards the stage.  
  
"No! Let go!"  
  
"Stop it!" Harry hissed. "You're making an idiot of yourself!"  
  
Letting her shoulders sag in defeat, she shuffled up to the teachers table. At the head table, Draco Malfoy, a sixth year from Hufflepuff, and a fifth year Ravenclaw stood with the girls.  
  
"Please, oh please, not me!" Destiny muttered over and over.  
  
Snickering, Harry squeezed her hand.  
  
From where she was standing, Destiny could see Draco smirking at her. Annoyed that he found her pain funny, she stuck her tongue out at him and turned away.  
  
"And now," Dumbledore said, "Our Queen is-"  
  
"Not me, not me." She whispered frantically, closing her eyes and crossing her fingers.  
  
".Hannah Abbott-"  
  
"YES!" Destiny shrieked loudly. As a wave of laughter went through the school, she smiled sheepishly. "Whoops!"  
  
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you're quite thrilled Miss Black," Dumbledore said with a smile, the twinkle in his eyes even more pronounced than usual. "Moving on, our King is. Harry Potter!"  
  
"HA!" Destiny exclaimed before she could stop herself. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she cringed. 'Two outbursts in two minutes; no more caffeine for me!' she thought.  
  
Giving her a nasty look, Harry went up to accept his crown. Taking Hannah's hand, they walked off to have their dance together as was customary.  
  
"Psst! Malfoy!" Glancing over at her, Draco raised an eyebrow. "Wanna dance?" Nodding, he came over and led her out to the dance floor. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she smiled up at him. "So are you happy you didn't win? 'Cause I am."  
  
"You're happy I didn't win?"  
  
"No, that I didn't."  
  
Looking over her head to where Harry was dancing with Hannah, he said, "I didn't really care. There are more important things in the world."  
  
"Yeah. Hey Draco?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Are you afraid? Of what's going to happen next week, I mean?"  
  
"Yes, I'd be an idiot if I wasn't."  
  
"Oh." Closing her eyes momentarily, she said quietly, "I wasn't afraid when he came and asked me. Not for myself anyways. I was only afraid for everyone else. Did you ever actually want to join him?"  
  
Looking hesitant, he answered slowly, "I'm not really sure. I did want this, but only because my Dad told me to want it. I never thought it would happen- actually I never even really thought about it. And now that it has happened, I realize it's not what I wanted. Does that make any sense?"  
  
"Yes." Sighing sadly, she quoted, "The grass is always greener on the other side-"  
  
"Until you get to the other side and realize it's mostly just weeds," Draco finished for her.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
Looking thoughtful, she finally said with conviction, "No. I never wanted a life of inflicting fear. It wasn't for me. I've always wanted to help others. Probably because I knew what it was like to be hurt. I was always the one picking up lost animals and trying to fix everything."  
  
"Really?" Draco asked surprised. "You don't seem the type."  
  
"Yeah, well, things change. I grew up and realized that my destiny was to help those that were beyond the help of anyone in the rest of the world: the dead. I saw that. I wasn't meant to help anything on this plain of existence."  
  
"You really believe that?"  
  
"It's all I've ever been told; all that I've ever known. How could I possibly believe anything else?" Seeing him giving her a look of sympathy, she quickly turned the subject away from herself. "Have you learned yet what your purpose is?"  
  
"No, and I don't think that most people ever truly realize their purpose."  
  
"Oh."  
  
After a few minutes of silence, Destiny asked, "Why are you willing to hang out with me even though it makes the rest of your house angry?"  
  
"Because you understand, without being told, what I could never say aloud." As the song drew to a close, he stepped back. "See you tomorrow on the pitch?"  
  
"Yeah, at noon. Be ready for the worst workout of you life!"  
  
The rest of the night passed quickly for Destiny and before she realized it, she was moving towards the exit on her way to Gryffindor tower.  
  
"Destiny!"  
  
Looking over her shoulder, she saw Remus waving her towards him.  
  
"Hey!" she said happily as she stopped by his side. "What's up?"  
  
Looking unusually grave, Remus said, "Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office. I'm supposed to escort you there."  
  
'Crap! And here I was hoping this would wait until morning.'  
  
"Alright, let's go."  
  
Walking in silence, Remus finally asked the question that had been running through his mind all night. "What were you thinking just showing up like that? I mean, you left the school without permission and just expected to be allowed back in?"  
  
Giving him a look that could kill, she said bluntly, "Yes. If they want to keep me on their side badly enough, they will look the other way and pretend to not have seen."  
  
Reaching the stone gargoyle, Remus gave the password and she continued up the stairs alone.  
  
'Here we go again,' she thought as she knocked on the door.  
  
"Come in," Dumbledore called out.  
  
The interior of the room looked much the same as it had the last time she had been in there. The only difference was that, this time, she had to face the Headmaster on her own.  
  
"Hello, Sir. How are you?"  
  
"I'm very good. I have a proposition to make with you."  
  
"And what would that be Sir?"  
  
"I would like for you to join the light side. Now, I understand that on the Dark Side you wouldn't have to prove yourself but, on our side, you must. Everyone has to. We must know that you are truly loyal- it's the only way we can protect ourselves."  
  
"And what happens if I prove myself?"  
  
"You can be initiated into the Order of the Phoenix."  
  
"That's not important to me. Have you given any thought to what IS?"  
  
"Destiny, I realize that you want equal rights but the only one who can get them for you, is you."  
  
"But." she prompted.  
  
"But I will help you show people that you are not the monster you have been made out to be."  
  
"I believe you have yourself a deal, Albus Dumbledore. But, I have some conditions. I want to train Harry Potter for combat. He needs to know how to use his Mage powers and how to use hand to hand combat should his wand be taken away and he finds his powers are failing him."  
  
"This is fine by me."  
  
"There's more. I also wish to train Draco Malfoy."  
  
"Mr. Malfoy?"  
  
"Yes. He's willing to become a spy- if you can bring yourselves to trust him," she said sarcastically.  
  
Ignoring her tone, Dumbledore nodded and said, "We welcome him to our side."  
  
"Good. Is that all?"  
  
"One more thing. If you take off like that again, I will have no choice but to expel you. Have a nice evening Miss Black."  
  
"Sure, you too."  
  
*****  
  
"Harry?" Ron inquired.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Where did you and Destiny go earlier?"  
  
Smiling slyly, Harry said, "We went for a walk around the lake. Alone."  
  
"And?" Ron asked, sitting up straighter. "What happened?"  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know."  
  
Ron's jaw dropped open. "There is no way you're going to get away with not telling me!"  
  
Laughing, Harry smirked, "Relax Ron. Not much happened. We just kissed."  
  
"And how was it?"  
  
"Best kiss ever."  
  
"Is that so?" a voice said from behind him and Ron's couch.  
  
Spinning around, Harry smiled nervously. "Um. Hi Destiny! How long have you been there?"  
  
With an amused smirk, Destiny replied, "Long enough."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Um. I'm going to bed now," Ron said uncomfortably, rising to his feet.  
  
"Bye Ron," Destiny said absently, keeping her eyes on Harry who was shifting nervously under her gaze. As Ron disappeared up the stairs, Destiny smiled. "Well, there's something I never expected to see: Harry Potter acting like a guy."  
  
"Sorry," he replied softly.  
  
Laughing softly, she walked around the couch and plopped down into Harry's lap.  
  
"You misunderstand. I'm not angry." Brushing his hair off his forehead, she leaned against his chest. "I'm just happy you weren't trashing me."  
  
Hugging her tightly against him, he whispered into her ear, "I would never do that."  
  
"I know. That's what makes you special."  
  
Content to just listen to his heart and even breathing, Destiny closed her eyes and cuddled up against him.  
  
'I feel so safe, so perfectly safe.' she thought peacefully. As she drifted off to sleep, a vision flashed through her head- and was promptly forgotten.  
  
A vision of death and destruction, of a world where chaos ruled. And Destiny's visions were never wrong.  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to Vanessa, Shayomac, Snufflescutie, Phoenix Silverwind, Snuffles, Marvoless, Lil Bklo, Zepp Hob, dragonheart, the-elfgirl, Mina, Tory, Steven, and ginny5 


	15. The First Lesson

The First Lesson  
  
Chapter 15  
  
  
  
As the sun streamed through the window, Destiny Black smiled contently without opening her eyes. She could feel the strong arms encircling her body and smell a scent that was distinctly male. As she cuddled closer, she heard the sound of whispers, giggles and feet on the floor. Frowning, she wondered who was being so rude as to interrupt her perfect moment.  
  
"Shh! You're going to wake them up!" one of the voices hissed.  
  
Deciding it was best to just ignore them and hope they'd go away, she tuned them out. When a flash of bright light went off, Destiny's eyes snapped open, ready to tell the unlucky individual off.  
  
"Hermione!" Destiny snapped. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Nothing," Hermione exclaimed, trying to hide something behind her back.  
  
"Really? Then what's behind your back?" Guiltily, Hermione pulled out a camera. "Dear God! Have you people no shame?"  
  
"But you two just looked so cute!" she replied with a giggle.  
  
"What is going on?" Harry asked with a grumble as he shifted himself on his elbows.  
  
"Ron and Hermione were taking a picture of us!" Suddenly wide awake, Harry sat up and knocked Destiny right off the couch. "Ow!"  
  
"Why do you people keep feeling the need to interrupt private moments?" Harry asked with a glare as he reached down to pull his girlfriend off the floor.  
  
"Hey, if you wanted it to be private, you shouldn't have stayed in the common room!" Ron answered, grinning widely.  
  
Shaking his head in exasperation, Harry looked to see what Destiny was doing.  
  
"I'm going to go change," she said. "Meet me here and we'll get started."  
  
"Get started?" he asked, confused. "On what?"  
  
"Remember how I said that when I got back, I would start teaching you to fight like a Muggle and to use your Mage powers?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, I'm back aren't I? Put on something comfortable. You're definitely not going to care how you look when we're finished."  
  
*****  
  
Twenty minutes later, the Necromancer bounced back down the stairs, ready to start training.  
  
"Do you know what you're going to make them do yet?" Lily asked as she floated behind her.  
  
"Yup! They're going to wish they'd never been born!" Plopping down onto an armchair, she kicked her feet up so she was sideways in the chair and draped her hair over the arm. "James?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you have any suggestions, oh Great Master?"  
  
Ignoring her tone, James replied, "Physical endurance as you should know. The ability to out last your enemy is a very valuable skill- not to mention it could keep you alive."  
  
"That's what I was think- OW!" she shrieked. "Lily, you're pulling my hair!"  
  
"Sorry! It's in a big knot! Don't you ever brush it?"  
  
"Yes! You're just horrible at fixing others hair!"  
  
Rolling her eyes, Lily resumed her French Braiding task.  
  
"Des- Whoa." Harry said, coming to a stop in front of her chair. "That's creepy. Your hair looks like it's braiding itself!"  
  
"Finished!" Lily exclaimed proudly.  
  
"Yeah, creepy, sure. How does it look though?"  
  
Raising his eyebrows, he answered uncertainly. "It looks like braided pigtails."  
  
"Good! Let's go then!"  
  
*****  
  
After trudging through the snow, they finally reached the Quidditch pitch.  
  
"We're not going to practice out here are we?" Harry asked through chattering teeth as he blew on his hands. "It's freezing!"  
  
"Depends on you."  
  
"What are we waiting for?"  
  
"Draco," she answered distractedly.  
  
"Malfoy!"  
  
"You called?" a voice drawled behind him.  
  
Spinning around he saw Draco Malfoy approaching.  
  
"I am NOT working with him!"  
  
"Good," Draco sneered, "then leave."  
  
"Hey guys!" Destiny called from where she was standing a few feet away. "Come here." Glaring at each other, they made their way over to where Destiny was tapping her foot impatiently. "Okay, first thing first. We need to get you into shape. I'll be going through the same torture you are, so, no complaining. Got it?" At their nod of conformation, she continued. "To start, I want you to run from here to the lake. You're to run around the lake and make your way back to the front entrance steps of the school. You must stay ahead of me the entire time. If you fall behind me, there will be hell to pay. I am in charge while we're training, and you are to respect that. You do NOT want to cross me. Am I clear?" Seeing them nod again, she said calmly, "Alright, start running. When you reach the school, you can wait in the entrance hall. GO!"  
  
Giving them a ten second head start, she started to jog in the path they had left in the snow. They had barely made it to the lake when she saw them begin to slow.  
  
"James, it's about a mile around the lake right?"  
  
"Pretty close. It may be a little more."  
  
Smiling cruelly, she asked, "What do you think they'll say when they find out they have to run four times around it every day starting tomorrow?"  
  
"I think they're going to be even angrier when you tell them you've been training for months just so you could make them suffer," Lily replied with a snicker.  
  
Snorting quietly, James shook his head in amusement. "You're just being mean to them!"  
  
"Hey," Lily smiled, "no pain, no gain."  
  
"It rhymes!" James exclaimed with pretend shock.  
  
"Well, I've got to speed up. They're slacking," Destiny said with a smile before she took off at a sprint, quickly passing Harry and Draco. By the time she reached the castle, both boys had fallen far behind.  
  
'Oh they are so going to regret that!'  
  
When they reached the steps panting for breath, she merely smiled.  
  
"Do you remember the whole 'don't let Destiny pass you' thing?" Dropping the smile, she narrowed her eyes cruelly and snapped; "Now we're going to do it again!"  
  
"What? You've got to be kidding me! That was enough to last me a week!" Draco exclaimed angrily.  
  
"What part of 'I'm in charge' don't you understand? You want to survive Voldemort? I can teach you how, but you have to learn to trust me. You're a weak link if you can't trust those you work with. Besides," she went on in a sing-song voice, "you don't want people to know that you were beaten by a GIRL, do you?"  
  
Glaring at her, the boys turned and started back towards the lake.  
  
*****  
  
Ninety minutes- and eight laps around the lake- later, Harry and Draco dragged themselves up the steps of the castle where Destiny was waiting. Again.  
  
"Please. no more!" Harry begged, not even pretending to retain any dignity. Draco just flopped bonelessly onto the icy stairs and moaned pathetically.  
  
"Are you in pain?" Destiny asked, lifting her hand to her mouth in feigned horror. Dropping the act, she said firmly, "Good. Maybe next time you'll try harder the first time and won't wait until you're exhausted to do what you should have done to begin with."  
  
"You act like you're training us to be Aurors!"  
  
"Maybe because I AM." When neither of them spoke, she continued. "You came here this morning acting like this would be a breeze, that it was all a game. Well listen up children, this is NOT a game. This is war we're preparing for. There's no honor in it, no good, and no room for worthless pride. Heroes may get medals, but they go to your relatives. you'll just get a wooden box. Is your pride worth that? And winning. even winning comes with a price. So many will die and the only end will be with even more blood shed that leaves families forever torn and broken. This is what I'm trying to prevent. The things I will train you to do may one day save your life- or the life of another. The running we did today will be an everyday occurrence so remember; the next time your pride gets in the way, this may one day save your life." Pausing to allow her speech to sink in, she continued in a quiet voice, "We'll be meeting everyday, twice a day. Don't be late or else."  
  
With that, Destiny turned and disappeared up the stairs and into the school.  
  
"Malfoy?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You regret agreeing to this too?"  
  
"Uh huh. Potter?"  
  
"What?"  
  
". You run like a little girl."  
  
Jumping to his feet, Draco disappeared into the school before Harry could say a word. Scowling, Harry hurried after him.  
  
*****  
  
After showering, Harry hurried down to the Great Hall for lunch.  
  
"Hey guys!" Harry called to his friends.  
  
"Harry, where did you and Destiny go?" Hermione asked. Ron just wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at him and grinned.  
  
"Ron!" Harry yelped glaring as his friend pretended not to know what he was talking about. Shaking his head disgustedly at them, he said with a grimace, "I've been outside running around the lake."  
  
"Why?" Ron asked with a laugh.  
  
"Because Destiny made me," he muttered, turning bright red.  
  
Snorting with laughter, Ron gasped out, "Made you?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"Where is Destiny?" Hermione asked, cutting in to save Harry from farther embarrassment.  
  
Shrugging, he reached for a sandwich.  
  
"Haven't seen her since she left me outside."  
  
*****  
  
Later that night in the common room, Destiny finally showed up.  
  
"Des!" Ron called, waving the curly haired girl over to where they were sitting. "Where were you?"  
  
Bouncing over to them, she replied with a simple, "Out."  
  
"Yes," Hermione grinned, "we could see that. So, where did you go?"  
  
Looking uncomfortable, she shifted from one foot to the other. "I can't tell you. It's a secret."  
  
Jumping into the conversation, Harry decided to stop the questions as they were obviously bothering her. "That's alright. You don't have to tell us in you don't want to."  
  
With a grateful smile, she stated loudly, "Well, I do believe it is time for me to go to bed! Santa's coming tonight!" Squealing like a little girl, Destiny started to jump up and down.  
  
"Bye Destiny," Hermione said loudly, trying to drown out the noise the other girl was making.  
  
"Choa! Harry?" Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, she yanked him forwards and quickly planted a loud smacking kiss on his lips. "Adios!"  
  
Watching her run up the stairs, Harry just shook his head.  
  
"You know, she's kind of scary." Ron said, amused.  
  
*****  
  
Christmas dawned bright and clear, with three feet of snow covering the ground. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Destiny sat up. Shoving her hangings aside, she looked over at where Hermione was still curled up in a ball.  
  
There was a large mound of presents decorating the end of the other girl's bed. Seeing this, she felt a pang of sadness run through her. She didn't expect any presents; just an envelope full of money from her mother. Glancing at Parvati and Lavender's beds, she saw equally large piles.  
  
Blinking back tears, she burrowed back down under her covers. She hated tears; they were a sign of weakness that she rarely let show. They showed you cared. This wasn't important enough to even be blinking an eye at.  
  
'And I don't care!' she thought giving a small sniff.  
  
"Des? Are you awake?"  
  
When Hermione spoke, Destiny quickly wiped away the excess moister in her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I'm up."  
  
"Well, come on! Presents!"  
  
As she once again kicked her feet over the edge of her bed, she heard Parvati sneer loudly, "Look at her pile! Not as popular as you thought, are you?"  
  
Destiny could only stare with amazement at her pile.  
  
'Seven. There's SEVEN presents!'  
  
Shrieking with happiness, she dove at her pile and began to rip them open.  
  
"Whoa!" Hermione cried. "You can slow down. They're not going anywhere!"  
  
Pulling the first present out of the paper, she laughed. "Cool! My own quaffle! Who's this from?"  
  
Searching for the card, she smiled. It was from Ron. The card read:  
  
Des,  
  
I hope you enjoy this immensely. Make good use of it. We have a game against Slytherin in a week!  
  
Ron  
  
Tossing the paper in one direction and the present in the other, she reached for the next colorful box before turning her attention to Parvati.  
  
"Parvati?"  
  
"What," she asked snottily with a flip of her hair.  
  
"I may not have many presents but at least I actually HAVE presents from friends," Destiny retorted childishly to the other girls' earlier comment.  
  
"Okay," Hermione laughed, cutting Parvati off, "That was a delayed reaction."  
  
"Yeah I know. I was distracted by- Hello!" she broke off when she saw what was in the box she was opening.  
  
It was a pile of hair things and a book on how to use them, from Hermione.  
  
Not bothering to open the envelope from her mother, Destiny grabbed the present from Remus and tore into it. Inside laid a diary with a muggle pen that had fuzzy feather things coming off the end. Giggling, she rubbed it on her face and smiled.  
  
'Yay! No more ink all over my clothes!'  
  
Seeing a card with Draco's handwriting on it, she was reaching for the box when it shook.  
  
"Whoa!"  
  
"What?" Hermione asked from the center of a pile of colorful paper.  
  
"It moved!"  
  
"What did?"  
  
"The box!"  
  
"So open it!"  
  
Reaching out, Destiny cautiously tugged open the box.  
  
"Oh!" Smiling, she pulled out a white ball of fluff. "It's a kitten!" Grabbing the card, the read what Draco had written:  
  
I hope you like her. She's magical and you can cast a spell that will allow you to talk to her. Keep a close eye on her until you've figured out all of her powers.  
  
Draco  
  
Squealing with delight, she studied her new furry friend. The cat had pure white fur and the strangest violet eyes.  
  
"I'll call you Duchess. How's that sound?"  
  
Cocking her head to the side, Duchess meowed her approval.  
  
Grabbing Harry's present, she gasped. Lying in her hands was a firebolt. While it was no longer a top of the line broom, it was still very nice- and expensive.  
  
'And it's also a lot better than that piece of crap I have now!' she thought ecstatically.  
  
Opening the last of her gifts, she frowned in confusion.  
  
'A book? My father gave me a stupid BOOK?'  
  
Flipping it over, she froze thinking she had misread the title:  
  
How to Become an Animagus.  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to Phoenix SilverWind (HI!), Zepp Hob, ginny5, heather (thank you! That's so nice!), darkrisers_lair (Next time I go to the store, I'll look for that book.), heeropika, the- elfgirl, Sufalufagus (I love your name!), Jedi Rowena Gryffindor Bob the Purple Monkey, Darkfire75, Katie Weasley, HPfan, The Wolf Child, Wormtail's worst enemy, KaTiE, and SilverStar. 


	16. Initiations

Initiations  
  
Chapter 16  
  
  
  
"Destiny?" The voice came through to her as if through a cloud. "Are you alright?"  
  
In shock, she looked up to where Hermione was standing over her. Seeing the frown on her friends face, she realized her mouth was hanging open and quickly snapped it shut. Shaking herself out of her trance, Destiny jumped to her feet and ran out of the room towards the boys' dorm as fast as her legs would carry her. Not bothering to knock, she barged right in.  
  
"Harry!"  
  
"Ah!" Ron yelped, diving under his covers.  
  
Giggling, Destiny smirked. "Nice boxers!"  
  
Raising his eyebrows, Harry just rolled his eyes.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Ron shouted, embarrassed. "This is the BOYS' dorm!"  
  
"And your point is. what?" Not waiting for an answer, she shoved her book into Harry's face. "Look what I got!" Seeing Harry's eyes widen in shock, she couldn't help grinning like a lunatic. "Pretty cool, huh?"  
  
"Where did you get that?" he whispered in awe.  
  
Thinking of how to say who'd given it to her, without telling his roommates she was in contact with her father, she finally settled on the answer of, "Someone who would know."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, joining them on Harry's bed, as he finished pulling on a t-shirt.  
  
"Snuffles," Harry replied without thinking.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Snuffles!" Destiny tried to hide her laughter but it became impossible and she soon gave up. Leaning back, she fell to the floor on her back and lay there, laughing helplessly.  
  
*****  
  
"Where are we going?" Destiny asked for the tenth time in five minutes.  
  
"Shh!"  
  
All four friends had been squeezed beneath Harry's invisibility cloak and it was quickly becoming an unpleasant experience.  
  
"We're too big to be doing this!" she whispered, fanning herself with her hand before accidentally smacking Hermione in the face.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"Sorry!"  
  
"Just shut up! You're going to get us caught!" Ron snapped.  
  
Pouting silently, they moved as swiftly as possible. When then they reached the picture of the unicorn they had been searching for, Harry muttered the password and- after checking to be sure that there was no one around- they all scrambled inside.  
  
The room was unremarkable with chairs and desks covered in sheets. There were several dented cauldrons and so much dust, it was becoming difficult to breath.  
  
"Well, here we are!" Harry said happily.  
  
"This?" Destiny asked. Suddenly angry, she shouted, "You dragged me out of bed at six in the morning on a weekend, so I could see this! This is the only day we don't get up early to run! Now, I'm all sweaty and it's all your fault! I'm going back!"  
  
Spinning around, Destiny stalked off towards the picture frame.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
Pausing for a second, she glared at him. "What?"  
  
"I brought us here so we could talk in privacy about the book. You did bring the book right?"  
  
Scowling at him in disgust, she snapped at him, "Of course I brought it. Do you think I'm stupid enough to leave it alone with those idiots I room with? Don't answer that."  
  
Cautiously, Ron asked, "What's so great about a book?"  
  
"It's not just any book. It's a book on Animagi!" Harry exclaimed excitedly.  
  
With wide eyes, Ron could only whisper with amazement, "Whoa."  
  
"It also has all of the Marauder's notes, a step by step guide, courtesy of my father, on how to become one, and the color the potion should turn and everything. We won't have to do any work at all really. Just make the potion and say the spell exactly how the notes say to," Destiny said, putting her hands on her hips, doing a dead on impersonation of Hermione. "So, are we going to get started or not?" Walking to one of the couches, she grabbed a sheet, pulled it off and promptly started coughing. "Does anyone know that dust-removal spell?" she wheezed.  
  
*****  
  
As the days passed, the four friends put the room in order and began to collect the necessary items for the potion. Hauling a dented cauldron to the center of the room, Destiny couldn't help but feel dread creep over her. The days were slipping away, leading her to the moment she never wanted to deal with: January 1st.  
  
Feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder, she smiled stiffly at Lily.  
  
"Everything will be fine in the end," the ghost whispered soothingly. "If it's not alright, it's not the end."  
  
Nodding, Destiny turned away. 'No it won't be,' she thought glumly. 'This year's going to end in tears.'  
  
*****  
  
January 1st dawned cold and gray; as if the very earth felt the dread that lay within two of the students.  
  
As Draco, Harry and Destiny made their daily run around the lake they could all see that their hearts weren't into it. Heading back to the school, Harry gave them a curious look. Shaking her head at him, Destiny motioned for him to go back to the common room without her.  
  
"Draco?"  
  
Shaking his head mutely, he shushed her.  
  
"I guess I'll see you tonight sometime." Turning on his heel, he walked confidently away.  
  
"Bye," she whispered.  
  
*****  
  
As soon as he was out of sight, Draco allowed his shoulders to sag in defeat. As much as he wanted to appear to be in control, he knew he wasn't. Sighing, Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out the quill that would become a portkey in a matter of minutes. Feeling a sharp tug at his navel, he watched as the world around him spun nauseatingly. Landing with a groan, Draco looked around in horror.  
  
The room was made entirely of stone. The stone seemed to have something green and slimy growing on it. He was near one of the walls and the only escape was through the ring of Death Eaters surrounding him. In the center of the room sat a throne, and on it sat the one person he had never wanted to meet- Lord Voldemort.  
  
Climbing slowly to his feet, Draco let a mask of careful blankness wash over his features. Though he was terrified, he wasn't going to let anyone know it. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to live his last moments as a coward.  
  
"Draco Malfoy," Voldemort hissed.  
  
Bowing his head, Draco lowered himself to his knees.  
  
"Master."  
  
"Little Draco, do you have what it takes to be a part of my family?"  
  
'Why would anyone want to be a part of anything to do with you?' Clearing his throat, he spoke in his most submissive voice. "My Lord, I want nothing more than to serve you. I am your most loyal servant."  
  
Looking at him through narrowed red eyes, Voldemort whispered evilly, "We shall see. Crucio!"  
  
As pain flared through him, Draco ground his teeth together and fought the urge to scream.  
  
'No.' he thought desperately, 'I scream; I die.'  
  
When the curse was finally lifted, he found himself on his knees, on the damp floor, gasping in pain.  
  
"Draco, hold out your left arm."  
  
Closing his eyes, Draco climbed shakily to his feet, and raised his arm helplessly. 'This is it. Oh, God! Somebody help me!' Feeling two invisible arms wrap around his waist from behind, he immediately felt better. Squeezing the hand that had just slipped into his; he let out a bloodcurdling scream as he felt the Dark Mark being burned into his flesh- right down to the bone.  
  
The pain was blinding, agonizing. If it had hurt when the Cruciatus Curse had been used, it was nothing compared to the pain that coursed through him at the moment. As the agony began to ease, Draco found himself once again on the floor. This time though, he could only lay on the floor and cry, cradling his arm protectively.  
  
"Draco," Voldemort gave him an evil smile, "Remember this pain should you ever be tempted to betray me. Know that this was NOTHING compared to what you will feel, what I will do to you."  
  
Turning to his other Death Eaters, Draco heard Voldemort ask about Destiny.  
  
"My Lord," Lucius Malfoy responded, bowing, "the Necromancer is no closer to coming to our side."  
  
Growling angrily, the snake like man snapped, "Take your brat back to the school."  
  
Bowing once more, Lucius grabbed Draco and dragged him towards the door roughly.  
  
*****  
  
In the Gryffindor common room, Destiny couldn't help but pace.  
  
"Destiny, SIT DOWN!" Hermione snapped, "You're irritating me!"  
  
"No."  
  
"Des honey, what's wrong?" Harry asked soothingly.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Well, obviously something is!" Hermoine stated.  
  
"Look, if I'm annoying you that much, I'll leave!" Turning on her heel, she stormed off through the portrait hole. With a sigh, Harry rose to follow her.  
  
"Hey Harry!" Ron called, bounding down the stairs from the boys' dormitory. "I just got the newest Quidditch magazine!"  
  
"Alright!"  
  
Plopping down on the couch next to his friend, Harry completely forgot about his girlfriend as all thoughts were turned towards Quidditch.  
  
*****  
  
Storming angrily down the hallway, Destiny muttered, "They just don't get it and they aren't even trying!"  
  
"Yeah, humans!" a voice replied from behind her.  
  
Spinning around, she smiled.  
  
"Hey Cedric. How's it going?"  
  
"Pretty good all things considering. How are you doing? Truthfully."  
  
"Not so great," she replied, running her hands through her thick curls. "Between Draco, Voldemort, and my visions, I don't think I can take much more!"  
  
"Visions? Lily and James haven't mentioned anything about any visions," he replied with a frown.  
  
Sighing, Destiny continued walking as she talked. "That would be because I haven't told them." Turning down a random corridor, she finally let go and started to say some of the things that had been bottled up inside of her for months. "I haven't told anybody. How could I? I mean, I know things that nobody should have to know; I see things that nobody should have to see. In my head, I've watched thousands of innocent people be executed for no reason at all. Dark times are coming and I'm not even allowed to try and stop it. I'm supposed to just sit by and watch."  
  
"Is there anything I can do to help?"  
  
Shaking her head, she replied with a sad smile. "How can you help me if I can't even help myself?"  
  
Cedric was opening his mouth to reply when James suddenly burst through the wall.  
  
"The Entrance Hall; come quick!"  
  
Running as quickly as her legs would carry her, Destiny came to a stop at Hogwarts front doors.  
  
"Oh, God!" Hurrying to Draco's still form, she rolled him onto his back.  
  
"Relax," he murmured, letting his eyes drift open. "I'm fine."  
  
"Like hell you are!" Lily snapped, even though she couldn't be heard by the boy.  
  
"Lily! You're not helping! Go get Madame Pomfrey-"  
  
"NO!"  
  
Turning back to her injured friend, she couldn't help but humor him.  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"It just an after effect of the Cruciatus Curse. I'll be fine by morning."  
  
"Draco? You are such a guy!" Bending over, she helped him lift himself off the floor and walked him down to the Slytherin common room. "You think you can make it to your room?"  
  
"Yes!" he snapped. "I'm fine!"  
  
"Sure you are. I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
*****  
  
As the days passed, things steadily grew worse for Destiny. The visions were becoming more frequent and the line between dream and reality was beginning to fade. At Quidditch practice, she had nearly fallen off her broom. In potions class, she hadn't been aware enough of her surroundings and the glowing potion had exploded, causing the class to glow for several days. By February, Destiny Black was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  
  
In the designated 'animagus room', Destiny stood pacing.  
  
'What to do. Something has got to give before I go insane!' Rubbing her eyes, she exhaled loudly. 'Five more months and it'll all be over.' Biting her lip, she grimaced.  
  
By June, it really would be over. All of the visions would have come to pass, causing the army of Voldemort's victims to grow. Hopefully by then though, she would be an animagus and would be ready for that end.  
  
Turning to where the potion was simmering, Destiny went to accomplish the task she had come to do. Adding the thorns of a rose, she watched the potion turn pink.  
  
'If we follow the book and all of the notes that Dad gave us, we should be finished in plenty of time.'  
  
Glancing out the small window on the towers rounded roof, she knew the truth: no time was soon enough. Leisure time was coming to an end. The sooner everything was in place, the better.  
  
Marking the time she had made the addition to the potion, she left to continue the job she had started at the mausoleum. She was off to become the person she was born to be.  
  
*****  
  
When Destiny had gotten up and volunteered to go add the next ingredient, Harry offered to go with her. She had turned him down instantly.  
  
'Something's going on,' he thought suspiciously.  
  
Getting up, he decided to follow her at a safe distance. She entered the unicorn portrait and didn't return for twenty minutes, even though it should have only taken her five at most. When she returned, instead of heading back to the common room, she turned and made her way to the front doors and headed into the Forbidden Forest. Making a split second decision, he decided to follow her.  
  
Walking through the forest was a creepy sensation. No light showed through the canopy and it was difficult to walk without tripping. The only reassurance he had was the fact that he could plainly see the back of Destiny's silver- white cloak. They walked for close to twenty minutes before coming to a clearing. Finding a nearby tree, he quickly climbed up it so he could have a better view of what was going to happen. Almost immediately, people began to appear from the surrounding trees or apparated into the clearing. The people made a semicircle around Destiny and, even though most were more than twenty years older than her, stood respectfully and waited for the others.  
  
'What in the world,' Harry thought as he watched a group of people bow to his girlfriend. Leaning forwards and squinting to get a better look at the assembled people, Harry felt shock course through him. 'Oh my God!'  
  
Standing before him, in a semicircle around his girlfriend, was some of the most famous types of Dark Creatures ever to walk the earth.  
  
As one of the creatures approached Destiny, all fear for himself melted away and was replaced by pure terror for his friend.  
  
'That's a vampire!'  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to Phoenix Silverwind, GypsySwordGodess, ra-chan, the-elfgirl, Wormtail's worst enemy, shayomac, azalai, SwomeSwan, KaTiE, WeasleyTwinsLover1112, Katie Weasley, The Wolf Child, Snufalufagus, Marvoless, Mina, Riley, eve, storyrocs, DesiWood, Booger and Co, Snow White, Ninni, Joe, blackstar, Lauren, MissVaikiki, Nadine, Bookworm2000, chinadawn_97266, sarah, and Darkangel369 


	17. Promise Me

A/N: There's a lot of mushiness in this chapter. Yes, it's going to make you want to gag- it made me want to. You've been warned so don't flame me for it! Personally I thought it was cute in a non-realistic kind of way.  
  
Promise Me  
  
Chapter 17  
  
  
  
'That's a vampire,' Harry thought, shocked.  
  
Horrified, Harry saw the vampire leaning forward towards Destiny's neck. Without thinking, Harry jumped from where he was perched on the branch and barreled into the vampire, effectively knocking it off its feet.  
  
Growling angrily, it jumped up and lifted Harry off of the ground by the collar of his shirt.  
  
"What the hell is your problem?" As the vampire shook him, Harry felt his head snapping back and forth violently. "Do you just randomly attack people?"  
  
"Stanton, STOP!" Leaping forward, Destiny grabbed a hold of them and started prying them apart. "You're going to hurt him!"  
  
"So?"  
  
"This is my boyfriend, Harry Potter! LET GO!"  
  
As Stanton dropped him to the ground, Harry felt the air that had been squeezed out of him, rush back into his lungs. Touching his neck, he grimaced. 'That's going to leave a bruise.' Feeling a presence next to him that he could not ignore, he looked up to see Destiny towering over him. 'How does she always manage to look so scary and still be so small?'  
  
Clearing his throat self-consciously, Harry took a good look around. From inside the circle, none of the creatures were very scary or even particularly threatening. In fact, most looked like normal people you'd see on the street everyday.  
  
"Um. Hi?" he said guiltily.  
  
Giving him an unsympathetic glare, Destiny asked sternly, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Following you?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why? Because you won't ever tell me anything! I have to spy on you just to find out who you really are! I don't even know you anymore! What happened to that open, friendly girl I met in September?"  
  
"She doesn't exist; she never did."  
  
Scuffing his toe in the dirt, he decided to change tracks.  
  
"Don't you trust me anymore?"  
  
Rolling her eyes, she snapped viciously, "Something's aren't about you. THIS isn't about you."  
  
"Well, now it is." Pausing to look around the clearing again, he said as calmly as possible, "Care to explain what's going on. anyone?"  
  
Obviously seeing that Destiny wasn't going to speak anytime soon, a tall, lanky girl stepped forward. She didn't look to be any older than twenty, but already she had a worn, wise look about her. It was almost as if she were an old lady trapped in a teenager's body. Most of the people in the clearing had that look.  
  
"Harry Potter, my name is Dakota and I'm a shapeshifter- a Dark Creature. Everyone here has been branded with that title. We- the ones before you- are envoys for each of the different races. We've gathered here to receive our new instructions from our Queen-"  
  
"Queen?" Harry asked, confused. "You have a Queen?"  
  
"Of course we do," Stanton snapped.  
  
Stepping away from the angry vampire, Harry furrowed his brow. "How do you decide who's to be your Queen?"  
  
"It's very simple really. The creature with the most power, leads. Unfortunately, most of the time, nobody is strong enough to take charge. So we wait."  
  
"For what?"  
  
Smiling evilly, Stanton was the one to reply. "For a Necromancer to reincarnate."  
  
"A Necrom." Stunned, Harry turned to his girlfriend. "YOU?"  
  
"Yes," Destiny replied coolly. "Me."  
  
"You're a QUEEN?" Harry asked, still unable to grasp the concept.  
  
"While I live, yes. When I die, the people will wait for me to rise again." Pausing, Destiny cocked her head to the side. "I told you I was gathering an army, that I had that kind of power in my grasp. Did you think I was joking?"  
  
"Well, no. I don't know."  
  
"It's not a joke. We have gathered here to discuss ways to set our people free from YOUR people, without going to an all out war."  
  
"The question now," Stanton added, "is whether or not you are willing to help- or at least keep these meetings a secret."  
  
"I think we should wipe his memory," an older man said from behind Dakota.  
  
"Shut-up Dad!" Dakota snapped. "Well?"  
  
"Of course I won't tell, but I'll only help if Destiny wants me to. Des?"  
  
Throwing her hands into the air, she exclaimed, "Fine, whatever! Just sit down." Spinning around, she stomped over to a fallen log and flopped down gracelessly.  
  
Moving cautiously over to her, Harry sat down, leaving as much room as possible between them.  
  
For the next few hours, Harry sat and listened to various ideas being thrown around the circle. By the time the meeting came to a close, everyone was frustrated and annoyed.  
  
"This is ridiculous!" an elf, by the name of Mia, exclaimed. "We've just wasted so much time; too MUCH time!"  
  
"Hey! At least you've got some ideas. Just work on it next meeting. It's no big deal."  
  
Snorting, Stanton sneered. "You humans are all the same. Do you honestly believe we have the time or energy to waste on frivolous meetings? Most of us have to return to our families or clans. We'll have to make another trip all the way up here just to figure this out. Maybe you should take a look at your misguided optimism. You have NO idea what reality is."  
  
"That's not true!" Harry replied forcefully.  
  
Looking around for some support, he finally turned to where Destiny was now standing with an impassive expression. Pursing her lips, she replied with, "I think we should be heading back."  
  
*****  
  
Walking back to the school, Destiny couldn't help but remember the hurt look on Harry's face.  
  
"It wouldn't have killed you to stand up for me, you know," Harry spoke up suddenly.  
  
After a few minutes of silence, she finally answered. "I couldn't, in good conscious, defend you. It wouldn't have been fair to either of us."  
  
Looking confused, Harry said, "I don't understand."  
  
"My defending you would have been a lie and. I couldn't lie to them." Pausing to gather her jumbled thoughts together, she continued, giving him a sad look. ". I agreed with them too. You don't live in reality, Harry. You live in a world where no matter how bad the night is, there's always the promise of dawn. Well, welcome to my world! In my world, there's no guarantee that the sun will rise again because, truthfully. there's no tomorrow. Not for them and never for me. There's only today and even that's not always true."  
  
Silence descended on them until it was almost unbearable.  
  
'I shouldn't have been so hard on him. It's not his fault that I am what I am. He doesn't need to live in the darkness; it would destroy him.' With a deep breath, she quickly blurted, "I'm sorry," at the same time that Harry said, "I should have trusted you."  
  
Laughing softly, they stopped walking. Looking at each other, they shifted nervously and waited for the other to say something. Finally, Destiny managed to gather the courage to start again.  
  
"I'm sorry I got angry. Still working on the trust thing, I guess."  
  
"Me too. I just wanted to know why you felt you couldn't just tell me. Forgive me?"  
  
Seeing him standing there with his arms held open to hug her, she couldn't help but smile. Shyly, Destiny stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.  
  
"Always," she murmured, closing her eyes and laying her head against his chest, hugging him closer to drown out the pain of knowing that forgiveness would never fix their problems.  
  
*****  
  
February fourteenth dawned cold and clear, with frost covering the windows. Fires were lit in the grates but still the chill did not pass. In the boys' dormitory, the seventh years were pulling on gloves and jackets in preparation of the snowball war against the other houses.  
  
"Hey Ron, what did you get Hermione?" Seamus asked curiously as he pulled on his socks.  
  
"Why would I get her something?"  
  
"Um. Ron?" Harry asked, looking worried. "You do know that today is Valentines Day, don't you?"  
  
"Why would I get Hermione something for Valentines day?" Ron asked turning bright red. "We're not dating!" Seeing everyone's incredulous looks, he exclaimed, "We're not!"  
  
Rolling his eyes, Dean turned to Harry. "What did you get Destiny?"  
  
"Something I'm hoping she won't laugh at me for," he muttered. Confused, Neville asked why she would laugh at him because of a present. Shifting uncomfortably under the other boys' stares, he finally said, "I'll tell you tonight, okay?"  
  
"Sure," Ron agreed.  
  
"So," Seamus grinned insanely, while rubbing his hands together. "Are we ready to beat Slytherin to a bloody pulp?"  
  
*****  
  
Outside, students had gathered, ready for the fight to begin.  
  
"Hagrid!" Harry shouted. Waving the gamekeeper over, he turned to his friends. "Maybe Hagrid will help Gryffindor!"  
  
"'Ello there 'arry!"  
  
"Hi Hagrid! Will you help us?"  
  
Looking regretful, he said, "Can't. 'Ave to make sure it don't get to violent."  
  
Destiny, who had been silent all morning, finally spoke. "Hagrid, there's going be two students that'll get to close to the Whomping Willow."  
  
Startled, the half-giant asked anxiously, "Do you know which ones?"  
  
Looking regretful, Destiny smiled sadly. "Just watch the tree. I can't tell you anymore than that." To her friends, she tried to smile cheerfully. "Come on. Let's pelt someone with fluff."  
  
Waving their goodbyes, they headed to where the others from their house had gathered.  
  
"Will they be okay?" Hermione asked quietly.  
  
Shrugging, Destiny bent down to gather up some snow. "I know not the destination, only the journey. Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you. Humans aren't built to be able to handle the knowledge of the future. Lot's of human Seers go insane." Tossing her snowball in the air, she threw it in Harry's face. Smirking, Destiny turned and ran in the other direction.  
  
Brushing the coldness off his face, Harry took off after her. Spying her running behind a tree, he followed closely- and was promptly hit by another ball of snow. Shaking the fluffy water out of his eyes, Harry lunged at her, picked her up, and flung her over his shoulder. Carrying her a short distance- with Destiny squirming the whole way- Harry finally dumped her into a bush.  
  
"Hey!" she shrieked indignantly, jumping up and tackling him.  
  
Forcing Destiny onto her stomach, Harry shoved a handful of snow down the back of her sweater, causing her to scream and struggle to get the cold water out of her clothing.  
  
After an hour of chasing each other mercilessly through the snow, Harry collapsed onto the front steps of the school. Flopping down on her back beside him, Destiny smiled up at him.  
  
"I guess the house wars are over. I wonder who won."  
  
Wrapping his arm around her, Harry pulled her into his lap. "You're soaked!"  
  
"From being dropped in a bush!"  
  
"That was forever ago!"  
  
"So?" Leaning his forehead against hers, he kissed her softly. "What were we talking about?" Destiny whispered.  
  
"How you're going to sneak off to Hogsmeade with me tonight for dinner." Seeing her hesitant look, he gave her the cutest face he could manage. "Please!"  
  
"Okay." Hopping to her feet, she smiled angelically. "I would have anyways. I just wanted to see the face!"  
  
As she disappeared, Harry couldn't help but gaze after her.  
  
*****  
  
Holding her stomach, Destiny couldn't help but giggle helplessly.  
  
"Sh!" Harry hissed from beside her.  
  
"I can't help it! It's funny!"  
  
"It's not funny; it's stupid! You're going to get us in trouble if you don't cut it out!"  
  
Pausing and letting the invisibility cloak fall off her head, Destiny grinned at him mischievously. "Don't tell me you've never fantasized about it."  
  
"Yeah," Harry admitted, before continuing in exasperation. "That doesn't mean I'd ever do it!"  
  
"Mrs. Norris needed a good kick!"  
  
Giving up his stern façade, Harry laughed. "Come on; we're here."  
  
Helping Destiny into the hump of the stone witch, Harry quickly climbed in after her. Walking along in the darkness, he reached out and held her hand tightly. 'It's okay. Everything's going to be okay.'  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You're hurting my hand."  
  
"Oh." He quickly loosened his grip. "Sorry."  
  
After making their way through Honeydukes, they walked into the cold February night.  
  
"It's so pretty here," Destiny murmured in awe.  
  
"Um, Des? Let's go over there," he said nervously, pointing to a bench that would allow them to have some privacy. After sitting, Harry took a deep breath. "Destiny, I love you."  
  
Giving him a puzzled smile, she replied sincerely, "I love you too."  
  
"What I mean is, I want to spend the rest of my life with you-"  
  
"Whoa! Harry, I'm-"  
  
"I know you're only fifteen, and I'm not asking you to marry me. Not yet at least. What I am asking is that when you ARE ready to marry, you promise it will be me who will be waiting for you at the alter." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small, delicate ring. "Will you promise yourself to me Destiny Black?"  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to Crystal Angel, KaTiE, Ninni, storyrocs, Phoenix Silverwind, Katie Weasley, Arwena, Marvoless, Booger and co, blackstar, Sarah, Lauren, missingdunno, Mysterious Reviewer, Miss Vaikiki, Deis, Stargirl, and Erin. 


	18. Animagi

Disclaimer: I own Destiny and anything you don't recognize. I borrowed the Golden Griffin from Barb LP at http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/. Go read her stories. They're great!  
  
Animagi  
  
Chapter 18  
  
Wide eyed, Destiny stared at the ring that Harry held before her.  
  
'Wow.' she thought, awed.  
  
It was a beautiful, delicately carved ring. There were two hands holding a diamond heart, with an intricately cut crown, sitting on the heart.  
  
"It's beautiful." she whispered, gently touching the exquisite, golden ring.  
  
"It's a Claddagh ring," Harry replied, pulling it out of the velvet box. "This is an Irish wedding ring traditionally. The hands represent friendship, the crown loyalty, and the heart is love. If the ring is worn on your right hand with the heart pointing towards you, it means that you are taken but not married." As he moved to slide the ring onto her finger, he hesitated, his eyes asking for permission to continue. "Destiny?"  
  
Finally taking her eyes off of the ring, she smiled brilliantly. "I'd love to be promised to you!" In her mind though, she couldn't help but think that this was as close to the alter as they would ever get with each other.  
  
'I will keep my promise though. I'll keep it long after you've forgotten me and married another.'  
  
*****  
  
Harry and Destiny decided to keep to themselves the promise they had made. Destiny had insisted that it would make it more special but, truthfully, it was to keep him from the embarrassment that would come when the school year ended.  
  
'Why does this have to happen? Why was I cursed with the powers of a Seer?'  
  
Quickly turning her thoughts away from that line of thinking, she turned her attention to what she was doing. After completing their morning routine, Destiny had begun to teach them how to use muggle fighting techniques. Both were progressing quickly, though Harry was much better due to the way he had grown up. After this part of the lesson was finished, Draco always headed back into the school- to primp Harry always said- and they continued working with Harry's Mage powers. For having no real teacher, Harry was progressing amazingly fast. Destiny did what she could to help but, mostly, it was up to him to figure out how to do it. Many problems had ensued from this line of training but nothing could be done to change it.  
  
As the end of March approached, the Animagi potion was nearing completion- something they were all grateful for.  
  
"Well," Hermione said cheerfully, "we just have to let it sit for a week and it should be finished."  
  
"Good," Destiny muttered. "All this grinding and stirring is destroying my nails!"  
  
*****  
  
On March 29th, the potion was completed.  
  
"We can try it out anytime in the next week. Harry, have you finished collecting the books we'll need to say the spells?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yes, we're all ready to go as long as you can cast the spells."  
  
"Hey, why can't I cast the spells?" Destiny asked, indignantly.  
  
Smiling at his girlfriend's expression, Harry opened his mouth to answer when Ron interrupted.  
  
"Oh course Hermione's going to be the one to cast the spell! Did you think we were going to leave it to you? If anyone but her does it, we'll all be talking trees!"  
  
Giving him a blank stare, Destiny murmured, "Of course, talking trees." Turning to the rest of them, she said tonelessly, "We'll do it tomorrow."  
  
"Why don't we just do it tonight?" Ron asked curiously.  
  
"Because I say so," Destiny snarled.  
  
"And we all know that your word is law!" Ron snapped back sarcastically.  
  
Glaring at him, she suddenly smiled, teeth bared, looking for all the world like a vampire. "Tomorrow," she hissed before leaving the room, her robes billowing behind her.  
  
"What's her problem?" Ron asked, scowling after her.  
  
*****  
  
At midnight, a figure crept into the secret room, as quietly as possible. Reaching the cauldron, it pulled out a small bottle. Filling it to the brim, it stuck a stopper in and hurried from the room as soundlessly as it had entered.  
  
'Excellent,' the shadowy figure thought. Smiling to itself, it watched as the red liquid sloshed in its container. 'What they don't know will never hurt me!'  
  
*****  
  
After class the next morning, the four friends hurried into the secret room.  
  
"This is so great!" Hermione's eyes were alight with the kind of sparkle a child's would hold on a Christmas morning. "This has all been so educational!" She abruptly stopped when she heard Ron groan and resorted to glaring at him. "Be quiet Ron!"  
  
"I didn't even say anything!"  
  
"You may not have said anything but I understood you perfectly well!"  
  
"Guys, shut the hell up!" Destiny snapped. "Don't you ever do anything but fight?" Scowling at them in disgust, she moved over to the cauldron, dipped a goblet in, and turned to Hermione. "If you screw up, you will die screaming." Seeing Hermione swallowing nervously, Destiny raised the goblet, sniffed it, and swallowed the whole thing in one gulp. "Yummy! Tastes like regurgitated puke! Alright, spell me!"  
  
As the spell hit her, Destiny felt her bones melt painlessly and instantly reform. At the gasps around her, she looked down, feeling panicked. Her eyes were met with a colorful array of yellows, blues, reds, and greens. Not just colors, but FEATHERS!  
  
'I'm a bird!'  
  
Thrilled at the prospect of being able to fly without a broom, she flapped her wings and soared to a table on the other side of the room. Transforming, Destiny landed back on her hands and absentmindedly kicked her dangling legs against the table.  
  
"Well?" Destiny asked with a grin. "What kind of bird am I?"  
  
Harry, eyes wide with shock turned to Hermione, to stunned to speak.  
  
"That's impossible!" Hermione exclaimed, grabbing the Animagi book and frantically flipping through it. "NOBODY should be able to turn into that!"  
  
"What? What am I?" Destiny asked again, annoyed.  
  
"You're a phoenix!" Harry replied proudly.  
  
"Really? Cool!" Scooping up some more of the potion, she thrust it in Hermione's direction. "Your turn!"  
  
Nervously, the frizzy haired girl drank it, gagged, said the incantation, and immediately transformed into a beautiful brown owl with white tipped wings.  
  
Squealing, Destiny raced over to pick up the owl and squeezed it tightly against her.  
  
"Hermione, you're SO cute!"  
  
After being dropped back to the ground, Hermione reappeared with an indignant look on her face.  
  
Smirking happily at her expression, Destiny handed the goblet to Ron. Wincing at the taste, there was a popping noise and a small reddish- brown dog appeared. Harry went as soon as Ron reappeared. Dipping the goblet into the blood-red liquid, he hesitated.  
  
'Something's coming,' he thought nervously.  
  
Shaking off the feeling, he downed the nasty drink and closed his eyes. As his feet hit the floor, he realized that he was on four furry paws. Turing his head to try and get a better look at himself, he felt his back shift and heard Hermione shriek.  
  
"What IS that?"  
  
Laughing, Destiny came forwards and patted him on the head.  
  
"It's a Golden Griffin! They look just like lions until they raise their wings. It's the mascot of Gryffindor!"  
  
Popping back into his human form, Harry grinned, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "This is going to be so great!"  
  
*****  
  
On the roof of the Astronomy tower, Destiny sat with her arms locked around her legs, head on her knees, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. She'd been there for hours, just waiting for the next day to begin. Tears in her eyes, Destiny sang softly to herself.  
  
"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, the world forgot me again, happy birthday to me."  
  
Allowing the tears to spill, she pressed her face into her arms and let herself cry as if her heart were breaking.  
  
"Sh, love. It'll be okay," a comforting voice whispered.  
  
Wiping her eyes, Destiny leaned farther into Lily's comforting embrace.  
  
"How can it be? They forgot my birthday! My own MOTHER didn't even send a card!"  
  
". I'm sorry darling."  
  
Giving one last great sniff, Destiny climbed to her feet. "Don't be sorry." Bitterly, she said, "It won't matter soon; I'll have company in my pain. Everyone knows how much misery loves company and there will be plenty of misery to go around."  
  
*****  
  
April flew by and as the end of March approached, so did finals. Students were frantic with worry and no one more so than the seventh years.  
  
"I hate finals! Why do we even have to take the NEWTS? They're so pointless! Haven't we suffered enough in the last seven years?" Ron pouted.  
  
"Be quiet and study," Hermione snapped, annoyed at this constant complaining and shoved another book at him.  
  
Harry was not too worried about the upcoming exams due to the fact that his Mage powers had progressed tremendously fast and most Hogwarts magic had now become far too simple. Destiny had begun to watch her friends lead their lives, veiling her sadness behind a sparkling grin. Where she had once tried to firmly attach herself to them, she was now found trying to put as much distance between them as possible.  
  
'It will hurt them less in the end,' she told herself reasonably.  
  
She had begun to visit her father frequently and made sure he realized just how much she loved him. Not a day went by when she didn't at least write to tell him.  
  
"Do you trust me?" she asked one afternoon.  
  
Surprised, he raised his eyebrows in question. "Of course I do."  
  
"Do you trust me to make the right decisions? To do what must be done?"  
  
Narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously, he asked slowly, "Why?"  
  
"Because there may come a time when I'll need you to trust me and my instincts without questioning what I do. Can you do that. forever?"  
  
Cocking his head in a very dog-like manner, he replied quietly. "I'll try my hardest. That's the most I can promise you."  
  
As the days continued, the visions grew clearer and clearer until, not even sleep offered any reprieve from the horrors. Destiny had tried everything she could think of to stop them but nothing helped. She had even become desperate enough to ask Professor Trelawney to help- an event that proved to be a complete waste of time. Being in the Divination teachers classroom was the worst. No matter what she said about the crazy teacher, the room still held a clairvoyant vibe to it and was making her increasingly nauseous.  
  
Closing her eyes, with hopes of settling her stomach, Destiny immediately saw the flashes of green light, red liquid, and herself, torn between light and dark. There was a third choice but, as always, she was unable to see it before the vision came to an end.  
  
Harry spent the next few days rubbing his scar while trying to ignore the pain that radiated from it.  
  
"You should go tell Dumbledore," Ron suggested worriedly.  
  
"No," he replied as the pain became more intense. "It won't do any good."  
  
That night, after they had finished their Mage training, Draco cornered Harry, determined to get an answer to what was going on.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Draco asked, crossing his arms and scowling at him.  
  
"What are you jabbering on about Malfoy?"  
  
"Destiny, she's changed and not for the better I might add. Now I want to know why."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry growled, shoving past him.  
  
Grabbing his arm, Draco forced him to stop and face him.  
  
"Yes you do. If you haven't noticed the change, you don't really love her as much as you claim to."  
  
Bristling irritably, Harry grabbed the other boy by his collar, drug the blond close enough that their noses were almost touching and hissed, "Don't you ever presume to know how I feel!"  
  
Giving him a last hard shake, Harry turned and stormed off. Draco could only stare in disgust after him.  
  
*****  
  
The last Quidditch game was scheduled a mere week before school was to end for the year. The day dawned gray, with rain threatening to come down without a moments notice. Staring up at the sky, Destiny shuddered. An uneasy feeling had been following her for months, and she was just about at her breaking point.  
  
"Are you ready to beat the Slytherins senseless?" Harry yelled determinedly at his team.  
  
"YEAH!" the team responded.  
  
Snapping out of her thoughts, Destiny quickly buttoned her uniform and followed her team onto the pitch.  
  
*****  
  
The match between Gryffindor and Slytherin was fast and furious. No mercy was taken and none was given. The Slytherins, who hadn't won the cup in four years, were pulling all the stops and cheating disgracefully. An agreement seemed to have been reached between Destiny and Draco- all friendships were to be forgotten.  
  
The Gryffindor chasers scored goal after goal and Destiny was an instant celebrity for it. Just as Slytherin scored, making it 90 to 130, Harry went into a spectacular dive. Stopping to watch him, she was almost knocked from her broom when a particularly violent vision flashed before her eyes.  
  
Blinking the stars away, Destiny gasped to herself breathlessly, "What, already?" Turning her broom to the direction of the snitch, she rocketed towards it, desperate to make it there first. "James, stop Harry! Lily, stop Draco!" Pulling out her wand, she pointed it at the little golden ball and shrieked in desperation, "Incendio!" reducing the unknown portkey to ash. Making a hard right, she ignored Madame Hooch's whistle and barreled towards the teachers stands. Landing, Destiny tumbled from her broom and hurried to the Defense professor.  
  
"Remus, they're coming!"  
  
"Whoa there!" Hagrid exclaimed, putting his large hand on the Necromancers shoulder to keep her from moving any farther.  
  
"Miss Black!" Professor McGonagall shouted indignantly. "What is the meaning of all this?"  
  
Yanking her shoulder away hard enough to nearly dislocate it, Destiny turned back to Lupin.  
  
"Remus, the visions are coming true!"  
  
Rising to his feet, he asked distressfully, "Which one?"  
  
Looking towards the Forbidden Forest, she raised her arm and pointed towards it.  
  
"The Death Eaters are heading our way as we speak."  
  
  
  
A/N: Thanks to Snow White, KaTiE, WeasleyTwinsLover1112, Mysterious Reviewer, Phoenix Silverwind, Crystal Angel, Harmony Potter, Mina, Erin, Booger and Co, Shayomac, Marvoless, Missingdunno, Deis, storyrocs, tinkandtoodles, Snufalufagus, and Moony Lover 


	19. Never Ending Battles

A/N: READ THE AUTHOR NOTE AT THE END.  
  
Never Ending Battles  
  
Chapter 19  
  
Chaos erupted from the teachers stands as the professors began to panic, shouting to be heard over everyone else.  
  
"Quiet please!" Dumbledore called, trying to restore order.  
  
"Hey, SHUT UP!" Remus bellowed, instantly silencing the crowd.  
  
"Thank you Remus." Turning to face all of the professors, the Headmaster continued. "Let us not panic. Head of Houses please take your students to their common rooms and then return to the Great Hall quickly."  
  
Moving quickly, the students were soon on their way back to the school, curious to know what was happening. Glancing towards the forest, Destiny thought, 'At the speed they're moving, they're not all going to make it in time. And even if they do, there are not enough teachers to hold off an army of Death Eaters!'  
  
"Professor Dumbledore!" she called, running after him. "You're going to need more than just the teachers to fight. I suggest having all willing sixth and seventh years help. Maybe even some of the more qualified fifth years."  
  
"No," he replied sharply. "No students; not even you."  
  
Jumping in front of him to force him to stop, Destiny hissed angrily, "Then you have sentenced us all to death. I may look like a mere child to you but, truth be told, in Necromancer years; I am much, MUCH older than you could even begin to comprehend." Pausing to allow this to sink in, she continued in a lowered voice, saying each word precisely. "Listen to me. There will be causalities, yes, but not the number there will be if you insist on doing this alone."  
  
The silence that followed seemed to last hours, rather than mere seconds.  
  
"Alright," the old man conceded. Calling out the order to the teachers, the school divided into two groups: younger students returning to their dorms and willing older students moving to the Great Hall.  
  
Watching the procession, Destiny stayed out of sight until the last person was gone. In the Entrance Hall, Destiny stayed and waited.  
  
No more than three minutes later, the front doors flew open and wave after wave of Death Eaters poured in.  
  
*****  
  
In the Great Hall, Harry stood with his friends and listened to Dumbledore's orders. They were to stay in groups so they could protect each other. If they became injured, they were told to get out of the way and to not draw attention to themselves.  
  
Something nagged at the corner of his mind but, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember what- or who it was.  
  
As a loud bang resounded through the school, the students and teachers readied themselves to win- or die trying.  
  
*****  
  
Standing where she was, Destiny was in a perfect position to observe the violent battle and not be seen.  
  
'One, two. seven. fifteen-'  
  
"My God," she murmured in shock.  
  
Dark Creatures- they were everywhere and they weren't on her side by any means. Searching frantically for her werewolf friend, she finally found Remus gasping in shock, just like her.  
  
Shaking her head to clear it of the unwanted thoughts, Destiny moved deeper into the shadows. Focusing her attention on specific, strategically positioned ghosts, she allowed her power to begin to flow. No more than five minutes after the fight had begun, another group of people burst through the doors. The difference with these people was that they were not fighting for the Dark Side- nor for the Light. They were Destiny's people and they were clearly the worst group to be enemies with.  
  
*****  
  
In a clearing, in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, Dakota sat absentmindedly pulling bark off of a branch. Feeling the log shake under her, she murmured, "Hello Stanton," without bothering look up.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked with a look that plainly stated that he didn't care.  
  
Glancing at him, she hissed evilly, "Making a stake for you."  
  
"Ha ha, very funny."  
  
Sighing, she asked if he need anything.  
  
Cocking his head to the side, he replied casually, "Your blood."  
  
Before she could reply, a ghost appeared in front of them.  
  
"Voldemort is attacking Hogwarts; the Necromancer requires your assistance."  
  
Smiling, Dakota hopped to her feet and threw down her stick.  
  
"Looks like you're about to get your blood."  
  
*****  
  
Running through the already smashed doors, Stanton grinned at the ensuing chaos. He had seen a lot of war and death and had yet to tire of it. Born in the times of the Crusades, he loved battles between 'Good an Evil'. There was always blood, and blood meant that he wouldn't go hungry.  
  
Grabbing the first hooded figure he reached, he buried his fangs deep into its neck, relishing the feeling of sweet blood running down his throat.  
  
'Ah. Now this is what death is all about!'  
  
*****  
  
Harry was surprised when he saw all of the Dark Creatures from the forest meeting come into the school- then a little worried. Would they fight for or against them? Seeing the vampire lunge out and grab a Death Eater, he sighed in relief. Our side then.  
  
Turning back to the fight, Harry threw curse after curse at the approaching figures. Just when one of them was forming the words that would end his life, a large black dog tackled him to the ground, leaving the curse to fly harmlessly over his head.  
  
"Sirius?"  
  
"Move it Harry!" his Godfather snapped after changing from his animagus form.  
  
Leaping to his feet, Harry moved behind a nearby statue in hopes of using it as a shield. Backing in, he spun around in surprise when he bumped into something.  
  
"Destiny?" he asked, kneeling down next to her. 'What's wrong with her?' he wondered.  
  
Seeing the usually fiery girl sitting motionlessly on the ground unnerved him more than he would have wanted to admit. Reaching out to touch her, he drew back in fright when she turned to face him. Her eyes had no color to them; even the pupils had disappeared.  
  
"It has begun," Destiny stated in an unearthly tone.  
  
"What has? What the hell are you and what have you done to my girlfriend!" he shouted, aware that this. being that he was speaking to was not the girl he loved.  
  
"I am the first magic. I have been since the beginning of time and I will be at the end. I came to delay the battle that has begun this day. The time is coming."  
  
"For what?" Harry asked, drawn to this power that inhabited Destiny's body.  
  
"War. The battle lines are being drawn. Before today, you could remain undecided; now, all must choose their path."  
  
"What side do you choose?"  
  
Smiling, the blue returned to her eyes and Destiny clearly stated in her own sweet voice, "I choose life."  
  
Rising swiftly to her feet, Destiny stepped from behind the statue and raised her hands horizontally to her sides. Reaching one hand behind her, she grabbed Harry's arm in a vise-like grip and released a huge blast of power. As the power grew, Harry could feel the energy being drained out of him.  
  
'She's draining me to save herself!' he thought frantically, trying uselessly to pull away.  
  
Just as he was about to collapse, she released him and started to swirl the power into a whirlwind portal. Using the last of her strength, she pulled the Death Eaters into it and quickly let it close.  
  
Swaying on her feet, Destiny looked at the destruction before her. There were numerous dead bodies littering the floor and more than a few were people she knew.  
  
'If only it hadn't taken me so long to conjure that power.'  
  
Sliding helplessly to the floor, she watched as the professors tended to the wounded in their area. As the world began to blacken, she allowed herself to be comforted by one thought: 'At least I tried.'  
  
And then, blessed darkness claimed her.  
  
*****  
  
Harry awoke next to hushed whispers and didn't even need to be able to see to know where he was: the hospital wing. Opening his eyes, he immediately squeezed them shut again at the bright light and groaned.  
  
"Harry?" a familiar voice asked soothingly. "Are you awake?"  
  
Feeling a comforting hand brush his hair from his face, he cautiously opened his eyes. Around him stood all the teachers, his Godfather, and the Headmaster. The nurse, Madame Pomprey, was running around the room, taking care of an alarming amount of patients.  
  
"What happened?" he managed to rasp out.  
  
"You don't remember?" Sirius asked worriedly.  
  
Thinking hard, Harry said, "I remember fighting, Destiny and then. nothing." Seeing them glancing at each other and Sirius' sad face, he felt a wave of dread creep over him. "What? What happened to Des?"  
  
"Destiny is fine, Harry," Sirius replied, desperately trying to calm the panicking boy.  
  
"Then what?" he asked, confused.  
  
When nobody else seemed willing to step forwards and tell him, Remus sighed. Walking over, he sat carefully beside him.  
  
"Harry. Fudge heard about what happened. He heard that there were Dark Creatures fighting for Voldemort. Not just a few, but enough to constitute as an army. He ordered that when one was found, guilty or not, it was to be killed on sight, no questions asked." Pausing to gather his thoughts and reign in his emotions, he continued. "I'm going into hiding. I just wanted to wait for you to wake up to say goodbye first. So. Goodbye."  
  
As Remus moved to stand up, Harry grabbed his arm.  
  
"But that's not fair!" he exclaimed childishly. "You didn't do anything wrong!"  
  
"No," he replied, gazing at Harry sadly, "I didn't. The Ministry doesn't care though."  
  
"Can't you stay here at Hogwarts? It's the safest place right?"  
  
"No, it's not safe from the supposed 'good guys'. Anyone caught harboring me would be put to death. I have to go." Reaching out, Remus hugged Harry tightly. "Your father would be so proud of you. I know I am."  
  
Wiping his eyes, Harry sniffed. "What about Destiny? Where will she go?" Turning to Sirius, he asked if she would be going into hiding with him.  
  
"No, I was freed yesterday morning. The ministry acquitted me of all the crimes. Apparently, one of the Aurors saw Pettigrew and recognized him. Kind of messes up the happiness of it with everything else that happened, doesn't it?"  
  
"So, this means." Face lighting up with realization, he exclaimed excitedly, "I get to live with you now!"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"What will happen to Destiny?"  
  
"Don't worry about me," Destiny said from the doorway. "I've got it all figured out." Glancing at the other occupants of the room, she asked for a moment alone with her boyfriend. "Harry, when I leave this room, it may very well be the last time you ever see me. So, I wanted to tell you, you're free. I'm not going to hold you to your promise." Pulling the ring from her slender fingers, she gently placed it in his hand. "I want you to find another girl to love as much as you've loved me. Find someone else and make them feel as special as you've made me feel."  
  
"No," he said firmly. "I love you; only you."  
  
Closing her eyes, she whispered, "But we can never be."  
  
"Yes we can! It may take a while but we will be together, forever. You promised it would be me waiting for you at the end of the aisle.  
  
"And I'll keep that promise. If it can't be you, then it will never be anyone. You though, you have too much kindness and love to waste waiting for a miracle that will never come. Please. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."  
  
Knowing there was nothing he could do to change her mind; he drew in a ragged breath and made his last request to her.  
  
"Will you wear the ring? Even if it just means that we were once friends?"  
  
Smiling tenderly, she nodded and allowed him to slip the ring back onto her finger. "I'll wear it forever."  
  
Knowing that there was nothing left to say, they just sat together, unwilling to let the moment end. Letting out a strangled sob, Destiny leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Kissing, holding each other as tightly as possible, they lost all feeling of time and space. They merely were, kissing each others lips, faces, necks, and whispering 'I love you's' in each others ears.  
  
Pulling back, Destiny clasped his hands in hers and placed one last lingering kiss on his lips before walking out of the room. and out of his life.  
  
At the road that led to Hogsmeade, she turned for one last glimpse at the only place she'd ever dared to call home.  
  
Feeling her heart begin to break, she took a deep breath to steady herself. Turning away, she felt the last piece of her humanity within her, wither and die.  
  
"Good-bye," Destiny Black whispered.  
  
*****  
  
The end of term came two days later and with it, graduation.  
  
"Oh, Harry," Hermione squealed, "Isn't this so exciting? We're finally adults!"  
  
"Yeah," he mumbled distantly, "Great."  
  
"Cheer up mate!" Ron said, slapping him on the back. "There'll be other girls!"  
  
"No," Harry spat, "there won't. If I can't be with her, I won't be with anyone!"  
  
Turing on his heel, Harry stormed away, brushing past Sirius, who was coming over to congratulate them, without a word.  
  
  
  
Epilogue  
  
Standing by the lake, Harry raised the rose that Destiny had pressed into his hand in their final moments together, to eyes level.  
  
Destiny had given him so much. Hope, strength, love, and the ability to go on in spite of everything. She was no longer around but, within his heart, he knew that she would never- could never- leave.  
  
"I'll wait for you Des. No matter how long it takes, I'll wait. Forever."  
  
Taking a deep breath, he sighed. He knew he had to let her go.  
  
'If you love someone,' he thought, 'let them go. For if they return, they were always yours, and if they don't, they never were. I'm going to let you go now. Please come back.'  
  
Tossing the flower into the sparkling blue lake, Harry turned and walked away from the childhood that had to end. With Destiny's leaving, his childlike innocence vanished forever.  
  
The End  
  
IMPORTANT: This is not the end of the story! There IS a sequel! If you'd like a preview of the story, a longer version of the summary is right below. The sequel is called "The Phoenix's Fire" and though it centers on Destiny, she doesn't have a large role. It mostly pertains to how the world looks through others eyes. There will be a large emphasis on what people think of the Necromancer and it shows a lot about Destiny's true character that you would never see from her POV. The summary is below.  
  
5 long years have passed since the day that Destiny disappeared. Things have become critical in the wizarding world and the search has begun to find the missing girl that could save or destroy the magical world. With only the visions of a vampire Seeress and the promise a shape-shifter makes, Harry is about to embark on a journey that will show just how much time and pain can change a person.   
  
Please review and tell me what things need to be worked on for the sequel- not including punctuation and spelling. Make sure to leave an over all review of what you liked and disliked too. 


End file.
